Paths of the Hunter
by Silvergenji
Summary: Amy Howard, college student, meets a mysterious stranger named Will. He's something else, but is he worth all the trouble that seems to follow him? Reviews are like crack! Please help my habit
1. Strangers

Chapter 1

Amy Howard rounded the corner at high speed, late for class again. She really had to stop staying out at night, especially for odd reasons. She didn't see the older man until she was flat on her rear staring up at him, her books and papers and Polaroid pictures scattered all over.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said, reaching down to help her to her feet. His beautiful baritone voice was only made better by the British accent.

"No, it's my fault," she replied hurriedly. "I wasn't watching where I was going." She bent down, collecting her papers.

He handed her math book to her. "Here. Hope that your day goes better."

"Thanks." Flustered, she ran off, not even giving him a second glance. What a typical Monday.

She arrived at her class out of breath and grumpy, taking her seat next to her best friend. "Another late night?" Candace Brinks whispered over at her.

"Yeah. Didn't find anything too earth-shattering, though. The badguys are out there, but I can never find more than remnants of their work."

"Be patient. I'll go with you tonight."

Amy yawned. "If _I _even go tonight." She opened her grammar book and pretended to listen to the teacher, thinking. There had to be some way to prove that people around here were playing with evil forces- without depriving herself of sleep.

"Miss Howard, what is the answer?"

Amy looked up at the teacher, a blank look on her face. "Um, gerund?" she guessed from what little she had heard of the lesson.

"That's right. Now pay attention."

Amy nodded and sighed. Fine. She could deal with this later.

"You know, there has got to be an easier way to do this," Amy told Candace as they sat down at the T-Rex Grill. It was inside the Atrium, the huge, glass-enclosed area that served as both assembly area and courtyard for the college.

"Of course," Candace answered, pouring ketchup all over her fries. "We just haven't found it yet."

Amy reached for her stack of folders and books, taking out her journal and the Polaroids that she had taken last night. She looked around, lowering her voice as she handed the pictures to her friend. "This is what I found last night. I think they're spells drawn in the dirt, because I've seen similar patterns here and elsewhere."

Candace stared at them. "Ever think that maybe somebody is just messing with our heads?"

Amy laughed. "It's possible. But it's still something to do in this town."

Candace laughed, her eyes drifting to watch someone behind Amy. "Ooh, he's kind of cute for an older man," she whispered.

Amy stretched non-chalantly, twisting her back with the chair to pop it and looking behind her at the same time. She returned her face to her food quickly, turning red. "I already ran into him."

"Really?" Candace looked interested.

"No, I really ran into him. Literally. On the way to class this morning."

"Oh. Then that would probably explain why he's coming this way, then."

Horrified, Amy looked up as the man in black slacks and a gray-blue sweater stopped next to their table. He smiled, a ready and winning grin. His eyes were deep, almost ageless, and she sensed great wisdom and warmth there. "Are you doing better?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No, of course not." Candace hid the pictures in a shuffle of papers and indicated the seat between her and Amy. "Why don't you join us?"

As he sat, he held out his hand to Amy first. "Will Stanton," he introduced himself.

She shook his hand warily. He was handsome, if a bit older, with straight brown hair and those deep blue-gray eyes. He was not the most muscular of men, but there was something in the way he held himself that spoke of strength. He was perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties. Immediately she looked for a wedding ring; she had no desire to become the target of a wild affair or something like that. She found none.

"Amy Howard," she replied. "And this is my friend, Candace Brinks."

"Very pleased to meet you both." As far as Amy could tell, the British accent was genuine.

"Are you from England?" Candace asked.

"Yes, from a little village in the Thames Valley." He smiled at her, and Amy could see her friend starting to turn red.

Amy thought,_ I don't know if I like him very much. He seems kind of condescending. What is his game?_

"All games aside, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

_From all the way across the room? What does he already know about us? Are we in trouble? _Amy was becoming increasingly nervous.

Will Stanton looked right at her. "You really should be more cautious with your conversation. There are people here that take matters of good and evil and the protection of these things very seriously."

"Who are you?" she asked him, fighting herself to stay in her seat.

"A friend. A hunter. I've followed some of these people all the way from England. They are dangerous. You really do not want to get mixed up with them."

_Who does he think he is? Is he one of them? What gives him the right to tell us what to do, the old man!_

And just as though he had read her mind again, he looked at her, forcing her with those ageless eyes to meet his gaze. "Trust me, Amy, this 'old man' knows what he is talking about. Would you two care to come with me when I go looking for them, so that I can prove my point?"

Amy exchanged a glance with Candace. If not for the way Will Stanton seemed to be reading her mind, she would have been shaking her head the same way that Candace was. But for some reason, some inexplicable feeling, she trusted this older and handsome British man. "I'll go and take pictures for you," she told her friend. "I'll be fine."

"I promise no harm will come to either one of you," he reassured Candace.

"I'll pass. You go ahead." Candace looked just a little sick, and she stood. "I'll see you later."

Will Stanton watched her go, and Amy noticed that he seemed to be calculating. _He doesn't trust Candace, _she realized. _Why not? And why would he trust me and not her?_

He turned back to her. "I'm sorry. This must all seem quite odd to you."

She smiled. "Yes. But I think that it may be exactly what I've been waiting for."

"So what do you study here?" he asked, making polite conversation.

"I study English, with a bit of music and psychology on the side."

"That's a good combination. And you are how old? Twenty-two at the most, I think."

"Twenty-one," she replied, wondering why he was so interested in her age.

"Just the right age," he muttered, seeming suddenly very far away. "And yet somehow too old."

"Excuse me?" She could usually figure people out pretty well within minutes of meeting them, but this strange man with the funny accent was totally mysterious.

"I'm sorry. I was thinking out loud." He stared out at the desert, a fierceness coming over his face, one that both frightened and reassured her. He suddenly seemed much older than he must have been. "You've always been interested in good versus evil, have you not?"

Amy nodded. "Since I was thirteen. Younger than that, if you count my undying love of fairy tales." She smiled, and he returned it, his face softening.

"Fairy tales often began with some amount of truth, especially some of the oldest ones, but people forget so easily. And I think you know that already."

She nodded, not surprised at his perception. "I research mythology in my spare time. It's one of my favorite hobbies."

"Then you may be able to help me yet. I've been doing some research of my own, but I have to admit that I don't know nearly as much about American mythology as I would like." He stood. "I must be going now." He gathered his coat around him, getting ready to leave, and she stood.

"Do you need my help now?" She started gathering her things. There was so much she wanted to share with him, to get his opinions about her research, to get some basic feedback on what she had been doing.

"Not yet. Watch for the red sunrise. You will find me again then." He smiled, that ready grin that seemed so familiar in only twenty minutes. "Watch, and wait. The people you seek are as dangerous as you want, and more. Wait."

She nodded. "See you later, then, I guess," she said, kind of lamely after all the talk of mysterious things.

He smiled again. "I'm sure that I shall." And then he was gone.

She watched him go, feeling the queasy wonderful chills that told her life was about to change forever, and quickly. She shivered, and then headed for her next class.


	2. Gift of the Raven

**Chapter 2**

Amy looked around her at the desert stretching in every direction. The ridge on which she stood was familiar, but when she turned to look at the school, it was not there. Only the wild desert remained.

The sky was dark with the clouds of a late spring thunderstorm, and light flashed in the distance. Whatever distant thunder rolled, it was drowned out by the roar of the wind in her ears.

As she watched, several small dark shapes grew larger, coming from the direction of the stormcloud. A screeching, calling sound came with the dark mass, growing louder. She realized with a start that it was a cloud of ravens, headed straight for her. She sensed both malice and helpful urgency, and she pulled her light blue jacket closer, waiting.

Then the ravens were surrounding her in a flurry of black feathers and screeching and tearing claws. She covered her head, protecting her from their sharp talons. Instead, she could feel thin red lines being scored across her hands and forearms. She winced, willing them away, panicking. _Go away! Leave me alone! _But if they could hear her, they gave no indication. She had fallen to her knees when the lightning struck so close that she could feel the heat and the thunder was felt rather than heard.

Moments later- or was it an eternity? - she realized that the ravens were gone. She opened her eyes to see a shaft of sunlight resting on a pile of rocks. A lone raven stood on the pile, holding something shiny in its mouth.

Slowly she climbed to her feet and walked over to the rock, dripping blood from her hands onto the ground. As she approached, the raven gave a final screech and dropped the object, flying away to join the rest of them. She picked it up, fingering the smooth black glass of obsidian. Unlike the arrowheads that she was so fond of, this one seemed to be shaped naturally in a strange shape- a perfect circle quartered by a cross. The edge of the circle was sharp, like broken glass, and she accidentally cut her palm on it. As her blood touched the object, it began to glow with a reddish light. The light grew until it blinded her and she put her other hand up to shield her eyes…

And when she opened them again, the sun was just beginning to rise outside her window. She pushed her blankets aside and went to the window quietly. There was no need to wake her roommate.

She pushed the blinds aside and stared out at the ridge where she had stood in her dream. With a start, she remembered, and looked down at the hand she had injured. They were clean and whole, but a thin white line now ran across the palm of her left hand, like the scar from a deep cut. Wondering, she looked outside again. A red glow was spreading over the land from behind the clouds in the east. The ridge seemed just a little brighter than the rocks around it, and she remembered. "Watch for the red sunrise," Will Stanton had told her three days ago.

She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and yanked on her shoes. As she ran out the door, she pulled her hair back and grabbed her keys, somehow simultaneously. She ran to the ridge, ignoring the early morning desert chill. She looked out over the desert, to the freeway at the bottom of College Hill and to the other half of the city beyond.

Halfway between the ridge and the freeway, there was a large pile of rocks, the kind of pile that she had always wanted to play in as a child. On the edge of the largest of these rocks, large enough for several people to picnic on top of, a man in a dark cloak-like coat stood. She knew without even seeing the cheerful face and ready smile who he was.

He turned to face her as she climbed up onto the rock beside him a moment later. "Good morning, Amy Howard," he greeted her solemnly.

"Hello, Will Stanton," she replied, equally grave. "It's a red sunrise."

He finally broke a smile, looking across the valley to White Mountain. "Indeed it is. Keep watching."

He began walking east, toward the other side of College Hill. She followed him. As they walked, the buildings of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries that she knew so well gradually faded into nothing blurs in the sagebrush. Tents and little wooden shacks sprang up around where she knew the railroad to run. She could hear, even from this distance, the sound of hammers striking metal.

"What's going on?" she asked him, feeling a little disoriented.

"There is the railroad. In the nineteenth century, you Americans built the Transcontinental Railroad. Many of the workers were Chinese, and Irish, and many of them stayed here for the mines when the railroad moved on. It's one of these men you call 'Chinamen' that I want you to understand, or at least learn to recognize."

She looked at him, puzzled. "Are we actually in the eighteen-hundreds?"

He smiled kindly. "Yes and no. We are here, but you may find that most of them cannot hear or see us." The smile split into that ready grin that she had been waiting to see again for three days. "Come on. Let us see what we can."


	3. I've Been Working on the Railroad

**Chapter 3**

"Are we there yet?" Amy asked, mostly joking, as they reached the bottom of the hill and began to go around it toward where she knew the railroad ran.

"Almost," Will smiled. "Not much further." He stared off into space for a moment, then nodded slowly to himself. Amy wondered what he was thinking. He had been doing that for the last hour, almost as if he were making sure that they were still where- and when- he had said they were.

The sound of an explosion ripped through the morning, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust around the bend. "What was that?" Amy asked, breathing deep to calm her pounding heart.

"They're blasting. They must have run into a rock formation they couldn't go around. Good. We're right when I wanted to be. Stay close, now." Will headed straight for the cloud of dust as it started to clear, and Amy followed. What was he doing? It was dangerous over there!

"What's going on?" she asked again.

"Well, have you ever heard the phrase, 'not a Chinaman's chance'?"

"Can't say that I have," she replied as they got closer. Nervously, she wondered if they would be blasted away with the next chunk of rock.

"When a foreman didn't particularly like one of his workers, he would send that one in to set the dynamite. Sometimes it was a tight spot, and the chances of survival for the man setting the dynamite were not very good. Ah, here we go. Watch."

They came over a small ridge, and the railroad work camp came into view. It was muddy and smelled rotten, and Amy covered her nose as she watched Chinese and Irish workers scurry around the camp, clearing debris from the blast area. "You're sure they can't see us?"

Will nodded. "There's one down there who can, but I don't think that he's here yet." His jaw set itself in a firm line, and his eyes were distant again. What kind of past did he have, where he could have enemies in the eighteen hundreds and still seem younger in her world? He pointed to the crowd clustered around another large rock formation in the way of the line of the half-finished railroad. "There. That's our man."

"Which one?" she asked. They all looked the same to her.

"The one that the foreman just handed the dynamite. Apparently he's been too good a worker and his fellows are getting jealous, especially the Irish. The Chinese were willing to work more hours for lower wages. This caused problems later on with the mines."

"What year are we in, again?" Something was starting to make sense....

"Eighteen eighty-three," he replied, smiling as he saw the pieces coming together in her head.

"So not too long before the Chinese Massacre. I always knew there had to be some other force at work besides just plain jealousy."

He nodded. "The Dark was at work here, in Wyoming, far from the shores of their usual labor. And it was for this man that they were here." His face clouded over. "There's the Rider. Hide behind that rock, but keep watching. I don't want him to see you here."

She obeyed, feeling a sense of dread seep into her veins, making them feel heavy as she watched. Will stood close, hovering almost protectively and practically glaring at the handsome man with the red hair as he moved through the camp toward the blast area. Amy thought that he seemed out of place. He carried himself a little too arrogantly, and even the mud and the grime could not hide that his clothes were just a little bit better than those around him. A dark aura hung about him, almost visible to Amy's untrained eyes. He did not belong here. So what was he doing in this place?

The poor Chinaman holding the dynamite slowly walked toward the large rock formation, waiting for his fellows with drills to finish making their holes in the rock. They cleared out quickly, leaving him to his work. With a look of considerable dismay, he set the sticks into the holes, then attached the fuses. Even from here, Amy could see that the lengths were just too short for him to safely escape. "They're going to kill him," she whispered to Will.

"That's the idea," he replied. "But keep watching."

She watched as he lit the fuse, then began running back toward the camp. The red-haired man began running the other way, toward the blast area. The Chinaman tripped, and Amy could see his look of terror as he fell flat on his face, looking over his shoulder. Then the man Will had called The Rider was there, lifting him up. Amy blinked, and they were not there anymore, the two men were back at the camp as the next explosion tore through the morning. Amazed railroad workers surrounded them, babbling in amazement.

"How? What?" Amy couldn't form a coherent sentence even when the dust had cleared.

"He caught the whole camp out of Time and brought this Chinaman safely back."

"Why?" She didn't trust the red-haired man's motives. He hadn't saved the Chinaman out of kindness, of that much she was sure.

"Because now that the Rider has saved this man, this man owes him his life- and so much more, later."

"Who is the Rider?"

"One of the great lords of the Dark. He has been defeated, in our time. The Dark, as a whole, has been defeated. But there are some who would not heed their masters' calls to the last battle and so have gained power for themselves in the years since."

"And the Chinaman is one of them, isn't he." For once, Amy was not asking a question.

Will nodded, and she could see carefully hidden pain starting to show on his face. "He is. And he has made it his purpose to destroy me and everything that I love, because I am the last of the Light here to fight him."

He seemed so old all of a sudden, so tired and lonely, that she fought back empathetic tears. "I'm sorry, Will," she whispered.

He forced a smile, the grin still coming readily. "It's okay. I've followed him back here, to where he began, and I think that soon I will be able to stop being the hunter and go back to being the watchman."

She looked at him oddly, but he didn't elaborate. "Come on. Let's get you back to your school. You still have class today."

She started, looking at her watch. The second hand was not moving. Great. Her watch had died! How was she supposed to be on time today?

Will laughed. "Don't worry. We are also not quite in time. You'll be to your classes on time, and your watch will work when we get you back to our current reality."

She smiled sheepishly. "Okay. Lead the way."

She followed him back toward the rocks where the morning's adventure had started, trying to digest everything that had happened this morning. And, as usual, she was trying to figure Will Stanton out. At times he seemed so full of life and wise and, yes, she had to admit it, attractive. Other times he seemed old and stern and almost as though he didn't belong to this world. What was she getting herself into?

They arrived back at the pile of rocks, and she turned to see that the buildings of their time were slowly reforming themselves into real, solid shapes. She looked at him. "When will I see you again?" she asked. Life was exciting with him, an adventure. She was already looking forward to discovering the next piece of the puzzle that was Will Stanton and the man he was hunting.

"You'll see me when the time is right."

"When will that be?"

He laughed at her impatience. "Soon. I have another life in your world. Pay attention to the teachers around you." She cocked her head to the side questioningly, but again he just grinned and did not explain. "Until we meet again, Amy." He took off walking toward the college, and she watched him go until he had disappeared into the main building. She looked at her watch, then started running back toward the dorms. She was going to be late for class, if she didn't hurry.


	4. The Face of the Enemy

Author's notes: Thanks to all who have given me feedback! I only have a vague idea of what happens next; the story is kind of writing itself. (yay!) I can say this, though. Pullmanlover, unfortunately, no, I can't see Bran Davies at this college in Wyoming (which really exists, T-rex skeleton and all, by the way. So does the town of Rock Springs.) or any of the others. It's really just Will this time. However, in the wee hours of the morning yesterday the beginnings of a sequel started to show in my very limited planning. I think Amy would have fun in England. But that's a long time away. I'm not sure that I want to stop writing this one.... Anyway. Here's the next chapter. It's a bit long, sorry about that. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4  
**

"I can't believe that you missed class completely!" Candace exclaimed when Amy caught up to her at the T-Rex Grill for lunch. "Where were you? What were you thinking?"

Amy shrugged. She didn't feel like telling her best friend about the dream or the scar on her palm or the red sunrise or any of it. Somehow, she felt as though she had entered a world that Candace would just never understand, could never understand. "I slept in," she offered. It was sort of the truth. After her hike through the desert to the railroad camp, she had found that she was exhausted. She had planned on only resting for about five minutes, but those five minutes had turned into an hour, and then two.

Candace shook her head. "You haven't been the same since this Stanton guy showed up. There's nothing going on between you two, is there? You're not having an affair with this guy, are you?"

Amy could have laughed, except for her defensive mood. "No," she said simply. "I haven't seen him more than twice in the last three days." That much, at least, was true. "I don't know much more about him than you do." Except that he didn't even seem to be of this world, the way that he could shift time and history and reality itself.

Candace harrumphed. "Don't get touchy. As your best friend, I would just have a right to all the juicy details, right?"

Amy nodded absently, scanning the Atrium. The T-Rex skeleton watched over the big open area with a toothy grin, and she wondered if Will Stanton knew _his_ secrets too. How old was the man, really?

A man standing under the T-rex caught her eye, and she nearly choked on her French fries. He was of Asian descent, not much different from all of the other foreign students that ended up in the middle of Wyoming for no apparent reason, except he was a little older. His black hair was touched with gray, and he was wearing a suit. Amy was certain she had seen him before. In fact, she was sure that she had seen him just this morning, only much younger and much dirtier.

"You okay?" Candace asked.

"Yeah, fine. I just remembered something that I forgot." She got to her feet. "I'll meet you at class, okay?"

"Okay," Candace replied, confused.

Amy gathered up her books and headed away from the Atrium. Somehow, she had to find Will and tell him that the Chinaman he was looking for was here. Here, at her college. There was no way that this was a coincidence. But how was she supposed to find Will? She knew nothing about him, especially where to find him.

She headed toward the cafeteria, toward the music department. She needed to think, needed time to process everything that had happened this morning. Especially the dream.... She had been avoiding thinking about that all morning. What in the world could it possibly mean? Ravens were messengers in Native American mythology, but what was the message? She was missing it.

She sat down at the table across the hall from the cafeteria, and took out her notebook and started doodling. It was a way that she could clear her mind. After about five minutes, she actually looked at what she had drawn. The odd symbol, that circle quartered by a cross, filled the page. She wondered what it was. She had seen similar things in her studies of mythology and anthropology. Its design was vaguely Celtic, but why would it be showing up in obsidian? And more importantly, how could something she believed to be a religious symbol hurt her?

She looked at her watch, and got to her feet. She needed to get to her next class, anthropology. They were supposed to have a guest speaker on methods of collecting information, some world-renowned historian or something. Today was not a day to be late. Besides. Anthropology was one of her favorite classes.

She walked in the door about five minutes early, and almost walked back out again. The guest professor for the day was none other than the Chinaman from this morning. Local history. Right. This man _was _local history. She had to make a conscious effort not to stare at him, not to draw his attention. Who knew what he had become since that day almost a hundred and twenty years ago? Will probably did, but he wasn't here.

"What's wrong?" Candace asked as she sat down next to Amy. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I'm getting a cold," Amy lied. She hated lying to Candace, but how could she possibly explain any of it here, right now, with him in the room?

"Maybe you better get some rest after class." Candace took out her books, not even noticing the feeling of dread that had settled over Amy. Somehow, seeing Will's enemy made the whole odd situation feel... real.

Professor Houston looked at his watch, then went to the front of the class to introduce his guest. "This is my good friend Doctor Li Cheng, most recently from England after moving there to escape the Chinese repossession of Hong Kong. He knows I don't like to give flowery speeches and long introductions, but he is a pretty famous historian, so listen up. You might actually learn something." A couple of the students in the class chuckled. "And I'm sure he'll let you ask questions afterward." He looked to the Chinaman, who was nodding. "Cheng? The floor is yours."

"Thank you, Professor," the graying man replied in a soft British accent, not too much different from Will's, as he took the front of the classroom. He had had a lot of time to work on his English. Amy barely heard him as he started talking about data collection and cultures. She was focusing so hard on trying to summon Will by the power of her mind, useless as that was. Then something that he said stood out at her. "Of course, the best way to understand history is to live it. Unfortunately, we can't go back and watch events as they happen." He seemed to be staring straight at her, and she couldn't help but meet his eyes.

They were dark Asian eyes, but there was something far more dark there than just the pigment of the iris. There was a blackness there, a light-sucking void that seemed to draw all of the warmth out of her. She shivered, seeing in his eyes all the contempt and hatred that must be the Dark toward humanity. Dizziness swept over her, turning her stomach, pounding in her head. She could not stay here any longer. She got to her feet, and despite stares from her classmates, hurriedly grabbed all her books and ran out of the classroom to the nearest ladies' room.

Ten minutes later, still shaky, she emerged, and headed toward the dorms. On the way, she passed the stairs leading down to the music department. Music floated up at her, calming. Someone was singing, an unfamiliar voice in a mild but very pleasant baritone. He missed an entrance, and the piano cut off as he laughed with his accompanist. Amy's poor heart almost stopped again. She knew that kind laughter, and she was almost angry at him for not hearing her mental summons to come rescue her.

She made her way down the stairs slowly, anger and frustration quickly replaced by a growing sense of relief. Will was here; he would make everything right. He would make the dark, icky feeling that she could feel building up in the entire school go away.

She stopped in the doorway as someone started to pick out "Greensleeves" on the piano. It was a simple melody, but it was her favorite piano in the music department. There was an uncomplicated, almost magical quality to the notes, carrying through the air and dispelling the darkness.

She blinked then, her vision blurring as she saw two worlds. One was the music department, standing still and watching as Will plunked out his melody on the piano. But there was another world, superimposed on hers. She could see the light that surrounded and emanated from her strange Englishman, could see it spreading through the air on wings of song. She turned, a feeling of dread coming over her, and saw Mr. Cheng coming toward the music department on a tide of darkness so black and so thick that it swallowed up the very walls of the school, absorbing everything in its way. He was no longer the historian, but a towering figure of menace and fury, eyes burning through her painfully as they paralyzed her to the spot with fear.

"Will," she whimpered, a plea, but she wasn't sure that he heard her, because the music kept playing and Mr. Cheng kept advancing. Then she thought about it. Even if Will had heard her, his music was the only thing that was keeping them from being swallowed, too.

She looked around then, for something, anything, that would stop the darkness from overpowering the weak melody. There, on the ground next to the theater director's door, was something that glinted in the fading light. It looked like it had been dropped. She ran to it, feeling a sense of urgency. She had to get to it before the Dark did.

She picked the object up, and almost dropped it again. It was a pendant of Wyoming jade- the good, very dark kind of jade- and quite obviously meant to be worn on a cord around the neck. It was the symbol that surprised her, that same circle quartered by a cross.

Feeling instinctively what she must now do, she did not stop to wonder how in the world it had come to be there. Just like the obsidian in her dream, it started to glow from within, this time a calm but powerful white color. She could feel a strange almost-heat as the light grew in intensity, but it did not burn her. Instead, it brought strength to her weakened limbs, allowing her to raise her arms straight out in front of her, pointing at the Dark. "You have no power here," she heard herself say in a voice that sounded so much more confident than she really felt. "Leave this place and work your evil elsewhere."

The Dark hesitated, then tried to advance, this time slowly and cautiously. Amy felt a righteous fury boil up inside of her. How dare they! "By the Sign of the Light, leave this place," she commanded in a voice that just did not seem like her own and words that could not have been. The glow brightened until it blinded her. Mr. Cheng shrieked in fury, no longer human but some twisted creature, and retreated, taking the oozing black mass of hatred and hunger with him.

Amy sank to her knees outside the door of the music classroom as Will finished playing, watching the two worlds become only one again. She waited for the world to stop spinning before getting to one knee in an effort to stand. Nope. She was so not ready to stand yet.

She looked at the dark jade circle in her fist, wondering at this little trinket. She could think of only one person that may have dropped it. Okay. She was ready to be back on her feet.

She knocked timidly on the door of the classroom. Will and the department head were chatting. "Excuse me? Did either of you drop this?" She looked at Will, who seemed relieved to see that she was okay after that. A million emotions flickered quickly over his face, none of them readable, and then that ready grin. She almost passed out from her own relief.

Professor Martin looked at the circle and shook his head. "No, I don't believe I've seen anyone wearing it, either. Where did you find it?"

"Outside the theater office," she replied, showing it to Will. He made a great pretense of checking the cord at his neck, and finding it broken, laughed.

"It's probably mine, then," he replied. "Just something I picked up at one of those Wyoming rock shops."

"Oh, how rude of me," Professor Martin jumped in. "Amy, this is my good friend from England, Will Stanton. He's visiting for a little while. Will, this is Amy Howard, the best singer that I just can't talk into becoming a music major."

Amy grinned, feeling at ease around Professor Martin. Most of her electives her freshman year had been music classes, and the department head was one of the nicest people in the school. "You never will, either. I'm too devoted to English."

Will laughed, and she felt the lingering darkness in her bones fading. "See? It's not just me, Harold. There are others like me, at least in some aspects."

"No person on earth can be quite like you, Will. You're different." It wasn't meant as an insult, not from Professor Martin. Amy agreed. There could be no one like Will Stanton.

She leaned against a desk, feeling her day catch up with her. "Are you okay?" Will asked her, worry clear on his face. He knew what she had just faced out there, even if nobody else did or ever would.

"I'm not feeling too well. I left class because I was sick. But I had to see who had such a beautiful voice down here."

Professor Martin laughed. "That would be our Professor Stanton."

"Professor?"

"Will here teaches English, when he's not traveling the world. But you better get home, Amy. You do look pale."

"I'll walk you to the dorms, if you'd like," Will offered. It was a chance to talk to him, a chance that she was not going to pass up.

"I would like that, at least until I can find a roommate or something to help me out." She wobbled a bit, and realized that maybe she really did need him to watch her get safely there.

"Always the gentleman," Professor Martin commented. Amy shook her head. She knew he meant well, but right now she didn't need his friendly comments. She was starting to feel quite grumpy.

"I'll meet you for dinner, as planned," Will told him. "I have some other things to take care of before then."

"See you then," the music teacher replied, disappearing into his office.

Will lent her his arm as they climbed the stairs. She was grateful for his presence, but she waited to speak until they were outside of the main campus building. It was cold for the middle of October, and the sky was heavy and dark gray. She wondered if tonight would be the first snow of the season. "He's here, Will, at the college," she told him quietly, shivering. She had forgotten her coat on her way to class.

"I know." His face was tight, but not worried. "I felt and saw what happened in the hallway. Well done, Amy, well done." He looked over at her, and approval was clear on his face. "I know you don't quite realize what you did, and I will not explain until you are more rested, but it was very well done."

She opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. If she weren't leaning on him for support, maybe she would have a right to complain. She opened her fist instead, showing him the jade circle again. "Is this really yours? Or was it just there because it needed to be?"

He laughed. "You're starting to understand. It's actually both. I did pick it up at a rock shop somewhere between here and Cheyenne, because I thought it might come in handy. It's yours, if you want to keep it." He met her eyes, searching hers for... something. He was unreadable again, suddenly, and more than human.

She met those gray eyes, not flinching, trying to read what she could from him. He was tired too, but it was a different sort of tired from her exhaustion. He was old, older than any human had a right to be, and yet the age he seemed to be. "What are you?" she asked him quietly.

"The last of a very old breed," he replied. "Again, no more explanation until you're rested. You're falling over."

Just because he was right didn't make it any easier to stop pressing for information, but she could be good. "When will I find you again?"

"When you need to. I'll give you my cell phone number, but I don't usually have it turned on. I don't like always being able to be found." They stopped in front of her building, and he scribbled a number on a receipt from his pocket. "There. I'll probably see you before you need to call me, but you have it if there's a true emergency."

She looked at it. "This is an American number. I thought you came from England."

"I've been here a while," he replied. "Go get some rest. Eat something and go to sleep early."

"Fine," she told him, glad to be ordered. She wasn't sure she really would go to bed unless someone told her she had to. "See you later, Will."

He smiled, a concerned smile, a pleased smile. "Until we meet again," he told her, and then he was gone again. She watched him go, then turned to tackle the stairs leading up to her room.


	5. Fire Alarms

Author's notes: I so did not expect to have two updates in 48 hours... I guess I'm just on a roll here. Yay! I've gotten a few questions about an Amy/Will romance- to tell the truth, I'm not even sure at this point. I have SOME idea of where that might go, but I'm not telling! :P Anyway. Here's the next installment. Enjoy, and thanks again for all the feedback!

**  
Chapter 5**

Amy groaned and rolled over as her roommate shook her awake. "Amy, wake up."

"Wha?" she asked groggily. She felt as though she had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler, followed by its whole fleet. Why would her roommate be waking her up NOW? "It's still dark."

"Some idiot pulled the fire alarm. We've gotta go outside. Grab a coat." Her roommate left the room, blanket wrapped around her, and Amy shoved herself off the bed, finally registering the harsh beeping sound coming from the hallway. She looked at the clock. Two a.m. If she found out who had pulled the alarm, there was going to be death. Death and lots of destruction.

She stepped into her fuzzy purple slippers and grabbed the comforter from her bed, pulling it around her shoulders. At least she had put on her warm pajamas earlier this evening. She grabbed her student ID- she would need it to get back into the building- from the dresser, and then hesitated. The jade circle sat there with her watch and her wallet, staring at her. Shaking her head, she grabbed those too. She walked out of the building, not smelling a single trace of smoke. She growled. Idiot people. They thought pulling the fire alarm in the middle of the night was funny. She would show them funny.

It was cold outside as all the students gathered in the fire lane between the apartment dorms and the tall building where the normal dorm rooms were. Amy could see her breath as a cloud, and she snuggled closer into her blanket. Everyone was confused, and nobody seemed to know what was going on. She heard rumors of one of the Japanese girls starting a kitchen fire, and another rumor about the building's local party-boys pulling the alarm for kicks. The fire alarm went off across the street all the time, when the people in the regular dorms tried to smoke inside or left candles burning too long. It never happened in her building.

She went to sit down on one of the benches outside the big building, still grumpy and a bit incoherent. She put her head down in her hands, waiting for the fire department or at least the housing administration to show up to give them the all-clear. She was almost asleep again when she felt it.

It was a strange, lurching sort of feeling, like reality itself had shifted. It left her feeling just a bit dizzy, and it brought to mind her journey through time yesterday morning with Will. She looked up, wondering what had just happened, but everything seemed to be just as it was thirty seconds ago.

She stood at the sound of angry voices, and wandered over to where a couple of the more inebriated guys were waiting to go back inside. They were not happy with each other, but Amy couldn't exactly hear why. The jade circle clenched in her frozen fist was warm, and she looked at it in surprise, then at her building. What was going on? Her senses told her that there was more to this than met the eye, but she was still too exhausted to fit everything together.

She started as she felt something cold and wet land on her cheek, and she looked up at the sky. A reddish glow reflected off of the low clouds, one of her least-favorite winter lighting effects, and tiny specks were falling slowly to the earth. Great. It was snowing.

She wandered over to the other end of the large building, to where she could see the desert past the other dorms. The jade circle grew warmer, and she narrowed her eyes, scanning the blackness of the desert beyond the school. Something waited out there, something that called to her, that she would be wisest to ignore.

Somebody screamed as one of the drunk guys threw a punch, and Amy turned her attention back to the people in the fire lane. It was all starting to fit together. Will's Dark was here again, despite its defeat in the music department today. And she was not the only one that could feel it this time, just the only one who could recognize it.

She ran toward the fight, thinking that there had to be something she could do to stop it before it turned into a tense brawl. She need not have worried about it.

"Get out of my way, man!" one of the drunks yelled at a mild-looking figure in an open-collar button-up shirt and gray slacks that had appeared out of nowhere to step between the two combatants. Amy caught her breath. Even in this weather, the only thing that looked cold about Will Stanton right now was his eyes. "I said, move or I'll beat you before I beat him!"

Will just looked at him, and Amy hurriedly pushed her way to the front of the crowd. "I don't think you would find beating me to be worth it," her Englishman replied. "You've had too much to drink. Let it go and worry about it in the morning."

"Fine, freak," the drunk replied, and Amy flinched as he threw a punch at Will, who just stood there. She opened her eyes again a split-second later to see the drunk's fist held in Will's palm. Will was not what she would have considered buff, but she could see the strength and tension in his muscles as he pushed the drunk's fist back at him. The drunk sank to his knees in pain at whatever Will was doing to him, to proud to say anything to make Will stop.

"Will," she pleaded quietly. She could see that he was hurting the drunk, no matter how much the idiot deserved it, and she did not like this side of the Englishman.

He looked at her, then let the drunk go, gray eyes still unreadable. "Let it go. Your fight with your friend can wait until the morning."

The drunk just nodded, looking up at Will and massaging his bruised fist. Will walked out of the crowd, which parted for him like the Red Sea, and she followed after him as quickly as she could. "Will!" she called.

He stopped, waiting for her, not turning around. She caught up to him, trying not to trip over her blanket as she ran. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He nodded slowly, and she could see his tiredness more than ever before. "I'm sorry, Amy. I don't know what came over me. I'm just so tired of people being hell-bent on hurting their friends. I was angry, truly angry for the first time in a long while."

She didn't say anything, just stood there next to him. "You did stop the fight," she tried to make him feel better.

"I should have tried to talk more reason into him."

"He threw that punch first."

"That does not mean I had a right to hurt him."

She didn't know what to say to that, so instead she told him, "I've been feeling weird since I woke up. I think the Dark is here."

Will simply nodded, as if that were something he already knew. It probably was. "The Dark is here, or at least a shadow of it is. And I'm hoping you have that pendant with you, because you may find that the fire alarm was an excuse for some to go looking for what they needed."

She tilted her head at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that they can't use the Sign, but if they can take it from us then they take away some of the power that we need to defeat them."

She opened her fist, the jade circle lying flat against her palm, still slightly warmer than it should have been. His face relaxed visibly in relief. "Good job," he told her.

She just blushed, then stared out at the desert. "What are you doing here?" she asked him suddenly. "It's two o'clock in the morning, and you're not a student."

"I was hunting," he replied, looking down at the desert. "Our friend brought creatures of the Dark with him that this town does not need." He walked over to a large rock that was part of the landscaping, and took out a dark, heavy-looking bundle from under it. With a flick of his wrists, the bundle became a dark blue cloak, which he pulled around his shoulders.

Amy laughed. "That would explain why you don't look so cold."

He laughed with her, relaxing just a bit. "A cloak would have raised a lot more questions than I already have by myself." He stared out at the desert, an intensity coming over his face. She could sense that he wanted to get back to his hunt, but she was too glad for his presence. She liked being around him.

"Let me come out there with you," she told him quietly. "You know I could help."

He looked at her, eyes kind, but she already knew what he was going to say. "Not tonight, Amy. You're still recovering from the battle this afternoon."

"I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep knowing that you're out there fighting."

"You will have other things that you need to deal with before you can get back to sleep. I've been doing this for years." He grinned that ready grin, trying to reassure her. "I'll be fine, and I will find you after your classes. I have something to show you."

"Promise?" she heard herself asking like a child.

"I promise. Now, look, they're letting everyone back into the building."

She looked and saw that he was right, that the building had been cleared to let the students back in. She felt reality shift again, and when she looked back to Will, he was gone. _Frustrating man_, she thought fondly.

She headed back to the dorms, knowing that in the desert below the school, a blue-cloaked man was fighting what she knew she couldn't. It was a comforting feeling, really. She got back to the little apartment she shared with her roommate, and stopped cold outside the door. Her roommate was standing in the doorway, staring at the mess inside. Amy's blood grew cold as the jade circle grew almost unbearably warm. "What happened?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Somebody broke into our room, and it looks like it's someone who doesn't like you." Amy looked past her roommate to see that things had been scattered all over the room. Her side of the room was worse, with everything torn into and tossed about. Her jewelry box had been turned upside down, but as her stomach did the same, she knew that nothing would be missing.

"Did you call campus security?" Amy heard herself asking, fist clenched even more tightly around the circle. The Sign, Will had called it. She was certain that they had been searching for the Sign.

"They're on their way right now."

No wonder Will had told her that she would have other things to deal with before she went back to sleep. He must have known already that the Dark had been here. Why hadn't he stopped them? The rebellious thought was in her head before she could stop it. Why hadn't he? He had the power to, she knew that much. What did he have to gain from her room being ransacked?

The campus police arrived, and the next two hours were a blur of questions and cleaning up. Amy didn't have any enemies on campus, at least not human enemies, so giving them any sort of lead without sounding insane was difficult. At last, they were gone, and Amy fell into her bed as her roommate turned off the light.

She turned off her alarm. She was skipping class in the morning. Candace could deal with it. Her best friend hadn't bothered to stop by to see if she was okay or anything last night, so she could just assume that Amy was still sick.

With that thought, and the Sign now threaded temporarily onto a ribbon around her throat for safekeeping, Amy fell into a deep sleep.

**  
**


	6. Friends

Author's notes: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews I've been getting! It really keeps me going when otherwise writer's block would set in with a vengeance. As for those of you who are rooting for romance... well, I still don't know what's going on with that but you might be pleased with this chapter. I'm working on chapter 8 now, but I'm not quite ready to post chapter 7 yet because I'm not sure I like where it's going. Is it kosher to write a fanfic on your own fanfic? Because I'm seeing two ways this can go and only one can make it into the story (but I like both ideas).... Anyway. Enough about that. Here's the latest! Enjoy!

**Chapter 6**

Amy sat down at the T-Rex Grill, and Candace looked up. "There you are," her best friend said. "I was going to stop by last night, but I got so busy. Professor Cheng offered to hold a study group at the library, and I decided to go. He's really quite intelligent. You missed a great lecture."

"I was just really sick," Amy explained. "I went to bed at six, and then some idiot pulled the fire alarm."

"Yeah, I heard about that. I also heard that somebody broke into some girl's room during the whole thing."

"Yeah, I heard." Amy really didn't feel a need to explain that it was her room, or that she knew what the burglar had been looking for. "How rude."

"That's a pretty necklace," Candace jumped subjects. "Where did you get it?"

Amy's hand flew to her throat, where the jade Sign hung on the gold chain she had dug out of her jewelry box this morning. "Oh, I found it at some rock shop a while ago. I just remembered I had it last night." The last thing she needed to tell Candace was that she had gotten it from Will.

"Are you sure you didn't get it from Will Stanton?"

Amy stared at her. "Why do you ask that?"

"This is a small college, Amy. The rumors are starting to fly. Some people are saying the college might hire him for next year. Some people are wondering what an 'old' man like him is doing hanging out with the students. I know there's a few of the wrestlers who are wondering what he's doing picking fights with them in the middle of the night. And everyone, Amy, is wondering what is going on between you two." Candace stared at her, expecting some sort of answer.

Amy sighed. Candace was her best friend.... "What do you want me to tell you? That I'm having some sort of torrid affair with an older man from England and it turns out that he's royalty and that he's going to whisk me off to some British castle and you can come along because you're my best friend and I wouldn't leave you out of this?"

Candace laughed, but she did nod. "Yeah, something like that would be nice. I at least want to know what's going on." She paused. "He's not royalty, is he?"

Amy laughed. "No, not as far as I know. He's way too down-to-earth."

"But you don't know, do you?"

Amy shook her head. She knew it couldn't be the case, but Candace was right. She didn't know. For all she knew, Will _could_ be royalty. "I don't think he is."

"Then what is going on?"

Amy leaned back. How much could she afford to tell Candace? "Well, he's involved in hunting down our badguys, too, which is why I've been hanging out with him."

"Why haven't I been invited?" Candace looked just a bit hurt.

"Well, as far as I could tell, you didn't want to have anything to do with him."

"True enough. Have you found anything?"

"Not really," Amy lied. She hated lying to Candace, but she could not tell the other girl about the desert or the Sign or the Chinaman.... "And I'm not so sure about this Professor Cheng, by the way. Be careful."

Candace looked confused. "What? Why?"

"I just get a funny feeling about him."

"He's a nice old man. He's even offered to do one-on-one help with us while he's here, if we want."

"I won't take him up on that. You can go ahead if you want, but I won't." Amy wolfed down her sandwich. She was still feeling a little drained, but well-rested.

"There's Will Stanton," Candace said suddenly, gesturing to the line at the grill. He was with Professor Martin, and he was laughing about something. Amy felt a little surge of anger go through her. He had had the power to stop what had happened last night, so why hadn't he? Why did she feel so betrayed by his inaction?

She didn't move from her seat, and shoved another handful of French fries into her mouth. If he wanted to talk to her after last night, he was going to have to make the first move. _Are you going to come over here or not? _she found herself thinking at him.

He looked at her as though he had heard her thought, and shook his head. "Not right now," he mouthed.

She glared, and put a lot of effort into thinking about something harmless. She hated the way that Will seemed to read her thoughts- hers and everyone else's. It felt almost as though her privacy were being invaded. No matter how much she was starting to like the Englishman, she wanted her thoughts to herself. So she thought about puppies and maybe going ice skating if the rec center was open tonight.

Will looked at her kind of funny, but he sat down with Professor Martin at the other end of the patio area. She finished her lunch and stood. She had research to do in the library. "I'll catch you later tonight, okay?" she asked Candace. "Give me a call if you're not too busy."

"Okay. Don't think so hard your brain explodes." Her best friend turned back to her lunch, and Amy sighed. Will was driving a wedge between the two of them, and the worst part was that she was finding that maybe she didn't mind so much.

She climbed the stairs to the library, taking a minute to look over the balcony out at the Atrium when she reached the second floor. The snow had fallen all last night and this morning, covering the Wyoming brown and gray with a thin layer of powdery white. Dark, heavy clouds over the entire landscape threatened more snow.

She studied Will for a moment, from the relative security of her hiding place up a floor. Even from here she could sense a great strength in him, and a great weariness. Why wouldn't he just explain to her what was going on, instead of just hinting at things and then disappearing again? Maybe he was just playing a game with her, making her think that he was something he wasn't. Maybe there really was no threat from Dr. Cheng, maybe it was all just her crazy imagination.

The warmth at the base of her throat grew, and she turned as someone joined her at the railing. Dr. Cheng smiled at her, a kind-seeming smile that did not touch his eyes. Other than that, he seemed normal enough. Maybe her mind was starting to play tricks on her, and she had imagined the whole incident in the music department. "I'm sorry you weren't feeling well while I was there yesterday, Miss Howard."

"I'm sorry I missed your lecture. My friend Candace said it was great. How do you know my name?" Even if she was starting to hallucinate, that was suspicious. But she was trying to be polite.

"Oh, Professor Houston and your friend Candace. They both say that you're very bright. I'm having a study session tonight with the students from your class. I think that you could probably benefit from it."

Amy looked at him critically, watching how his eyes flickered to her necklace and back almost as if it were a reflex out of his control. She saw the dark anger there, a kind of smoldering like hot coals, and she knew that he knew exactly who she was. "I don't think I'll be joining you, Dr. Cheng," she told him, tucking the Sign into her shirt almost as if it were a natural, habitual thing. "Not at this study group or anywhere else."

"You may change your mind, Amy, when you learn the truth of the Light. They seek to use you, just as they have used so many men and women as pawns in their game of good and evil." The Chinaman's voice was soft, almost a snake's hissing, and she felt a shiver run down her spine and back up. "I would not trust too much in your dear Will Stanton. He is more than you will ever know, and he will never tell you how he will use you just like he uses everyone else."

"I think that I can make that judgment for myself, thank you," Amy replied, trying to keep her voice cool and steady. He was not so unnerving now, not like he had been yesterday when she got sick. Yesterday she had not had the Sign around her neck when she faced him.

He turned to go, then turned back to her. "So be it, Amy Howard. But you will find that the price of challenging the Dark may be nothing compared to the price of serving the Light." Then he was gone, into the library.

She turned the other way, changing her plans. She did not need to be sharing a library with the man of the Dark. She had rounded the corner, still shaking, when she almost collided with someone. "Goodness, Will! Either I have got to watch where I am going, or you do!"

He laughed as he reached out to steady her, but there was concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "He didn't hurt me. I don't think he can, not here. But we need to talk. The sooner, the better."

The ready grin faded from Will's face. "I know. I have obligations until this evening, and then I'm free. Do you want to go out to dinner?"

She thought about it a moment, remembering what Candace had told her about the whole campus talking, and then she realized that she didn't care. She liked Will, it would more than likely be a free meal and there was no way as a college student that she could pass that up, and food would relax her and maybe him so that she could get some decent answers out of him. "Sure. What time?"


	7. A Date and a Problem

Author's notes: Again (and eternally), thank you all for the wonderful feedback! I think that it was John Rowlands that was talking to Will about using people.... Somebody correct me if I"m wrong, I don't have a copy of The Grey King handy either.

All right, all right, all right. (cheerful grumbling) I think y'all might get your wish here. I've been trying so hard to not let Amy become a (shudder) Mary-Sue that I think I've been accidentally smothering any sparks of romance. I'm not going to let that happen anymore. But where it's going to go is still up in the air.... Anyway. Chapter 7, ladies and gentlemen, for your reading enjoyment!

****

**Chapter 7**

Amy stood near the window, waiting, pacing nervously as she waited. Her roommate looked up from the homework she was working on. "Would you calm down? Are you going on a date or something?"

"Not really," Amy replied. Just because she had dressed up a little nicer than she did for class, and put on a spray of perfume did not make this a date. She was just going out to dinner with Will so that she could get some answers and they could both get fed. "Just out."

"Right," her roommate smirked knowingly.

Amy looked out the window again, and saw Will coming up the stairs from the parking lot, hands in the pockets of his dark blue jacket. It was starting to snow again, and she was a bit worried. It was almost the end of October, but there was something about the bitter cold of the weather that was setting in that put her nerves on edge.

"I'll see you later," she told her roommate, and ran down the stairs, long wool coat in hand. She was glad for an excuse to wear that coat; it was one of her favorites. She met Will at the door to her building, gratefully accepting the arm he offered her. The sidewalks were icy, after all.

"So, where to?" he asked.

"Anywhere where there will be enough people we can talk." She thought a moment. "There's the Village Inn, but that's where all the college students hang out. Pizza Hut usually has quite a few people around dinner time. And then there's always fast food."

"What do you want?"

"I wouldn't mind Italian, but that's a little out of my budget."

He laughed. "My treat, Amy, for putting up with me this long." He led her to a beat-up but sturdy-looking gray car, and opened the passenger side door for her.

"Italian it is, then," she smiled. He was being such a gentleman. A quick shadow passed through her mind. What if he was only being nice to get exactly what he wanted out of her? What did he want from her?

He looked at her funny as he settled into the driver's seat. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed, trying to be optimistic. "I just have a lot of questions."

"I know," he replied quietly. "I'll do my best to answer them."

They drove the rest of the way in silence, broken only by Amy's directions to the restaurant. She couldn't understand why she was both comfortable with Will, and yet nervous beyond belief. It was not like this was a real date or anything. She _knew_ that he didn't see it that way at all.

He touched her shoulder as she stared at the gently falling snow, and she jumped. "Is that it?" he asked, pointing to a sign and giving her a concerned look.

She nodded. "Hey, Will? Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever been in love?"

He smiled, but there was a sadness there that she had not meant to bring to his eyes. "I was, once, a very long time ago."

"What happened?"

"She left me. She didn't like sharing me with the rest of my life."

"Didn't you ever tell her about the Dark?"

He shook his head. "No, I couldn't. You usually try to protect the ones you love from something that frightening."

"So why did you tell me about it?"

He sighed, and she could tell that he was gathering his thoughts, trying to come up with just the right answer. "I think I told you because it was very likely that you would have become involved anyway. There is something very different about you, Amy. I'm sure you've noticed this."

She laughed, a bit bitterly. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Your kind heart and ability to see what is beyond your own little world are going to protect you in this life, and help you protect others. The Dark as a force may have been defeated, but there are always those willing to open their hearts to the tattered remnants of nothingness, believing that they are finding power." He pulled into the parking lot, but made no move to get out of the car just yet. "You will not fall to the Dark unless you choose to do so. Not many people recognize their own downfall. You would, and choosing to go over to the Dark would make you that much more powerful for the moment, although it would destroy you in the end."

She sat back a moment, digesting all of that. "So I won't fall. That still doesn't explain why you need my help. What can I do that you can't?"

"I don't know yet. But for me to have been guided to you, there must be something."

"Were you guided to me, or did you just eavesdrop on my thoughts and decide I could help you?"

He had the decency to look a little abashed. "That was part of it. And I'm not always a frustrating man, you know."

"How can you read minds? And why didn't you stop whoever broke into my room?"

"I didn't stop them because they were human and I am not allowed to interfere with human free will. They were looking for something to further the Dark, but it was of their own choice."

That wasn't very reassuring. Who could have done it, then?

"The mind reading is part of my birthright as an Old One, a very old breed of which I am the last. They went on to other places without me, leaving me as the Watchman should the Dark ever try to regain its former glory."

"That sounds so lonely." Amy returned her gaze to him, not seeing any signs of the ready smile there in his face, only weariness. "And you think that Cheng is trying to bring the Dark back?"

Will shook his head. "Heâ€ he hurt someone very close to me, a couple of years ago. I've been trying to find him ever since. And now I'm so close and I can't afford to stoop to his level even now. You have no idea who much I would just love to find him and make him pay for what he did to my sister." He stopped. "I'm sorry. I'm showing my ugly side again, aren't I?"

She nodded. "But I think I understand." Cheng had hurt Will's sister? That made him worse than low in Amy's book.

"I still need to remember that I can't fall to his level. Revenge is not the answer. I have to bide my time and wait until he starts interfering as one of the Dark with humanity. Then I have justification to eliminate him."

She nodded. "So you need my help watching for when he starts to interfere?"

"I guess that would be about right." He looked at her, a small smile returning. "Come on, I'm hungry. We'll talk about this more after dinner."

Amy wasn't sure how she made it through dinner, but Will was good at making small talk about classes and his life back in England. He told her all about his friends Simon and Jane and Barney and Bran. She laughed with him on all his stories about Bran and Jane's children, and about his own large family. She, in turn, told him all about her small family on the other side of Wyoming. "They would love you," she told him as she finished the last of her pasta.

"I don't think I'll ever have the chance to meet them." He looked away. "I think my business in America is coming to an end quickly."

Amy nodded, wondering at the strange feeling that suddenly flooded through her. She didn't want him to go. He was good company, and as far as she could tell, her company was doing him a bit of good too. He didn't seem so gloomy when he was talking to her, talking about anything but the Dark. _All he needs is someone to love him,_ she realized.

He stopped mid-sentence and looked at her. "No, Amy. I can't stay, and you know that."

"I do," she admitted. "Which is why I won't ask it." _No matter how much I'm starting to care for you._ "Anyway. You said last night that you needed to show me something."

He nodded as he took care of the check, then helped her to her feet. "The last time I was in endlessly falling snow was my first adventure as an Old One. I think you need to see what we're up against."

"Okay," she replied, hesitating. What could be worse than what she had faced in the music department?

They drove out toward White Mountain, Amy's nervousness growing with every street they turned on. She didn't often come out here, and the rough roads were only part of the reason. Some of the people she and Candace had been tracking came out here when the drunks didn't.

Will stopped the car and got out, looking down on the whole city of Rock Springs. "Come look at this," he told her as he climbed toward the top of one of the smaller foothills.

She obeyed, pulling her matching purple gloves and hat out of her pockets. It was getting colder, and the snow was threatening to start falling more heavily. Amy suspected that as soon as they were off the mountain, the weather would get far worse. She looked down on the town, and saw a murky kind of haze shimmering over the lights. "What is that?" she asked. Will just looked at her, as if she should already know. "Is that the Dark?"

"A somewhat physical manifestation, yes." Will shoved his hands deep into his pockets, staring at the thickness in the air. "It tells people like you and me, that can actually see it, that something is not right here."

"So it means that Cheng really is doing something here in Rock Springs."

"Right. And mostly at the college. He's using his influence to gain converts to a cause that the students won't even realize they're following until it's too late. Your friend Candace is one of these students, by the way. She's the one who broke into your room. She does know the combination, right?"

Amy nodded, swallowing bile. She didn't want to think such things about her best friend. "Why would Candace go over?"

"Li Cheng is a clever man, capable of reading a hunger for power in those who have it. Candace hunts for signs of witchcraft and wrongdoing not because she wants to see it eliminated like you do, but because she wants real signs of real power. She is searching for something to fill the void in her life where faith should be."

Amy listened, almost ashamed to admit that Will was right. She had sensed that about her friend, but she had passed it off as eagerness to help Amy in her crusade. But there was also what Cheng had said to her. "He said that you would use me, Will, like you've used everyone else. He said that I wouldn't like the price of serving the Light."

A small smile touched Will's lips, and she could sense that he was almost amused. "Did he, now? He might be right about that. But I think you would like seeing this town fall into darkness even less." He turned back to her, meeting her gaze with those gray eyes of his. "It is never easy to hold to the high ideals, especially as the world continues to make a mockery of things like family, the sanctity of life, service, and just plain common courtesy. Integrity is what the Light demands, and some find integrity too hard an idea to live."

Amy nodded her agreement, then looked up sharply as she sensed the darkness that moved toward them. Her hand flew to her throat, where the Sign was growing warm to the touch again. "Will?"

"I feel it. I think it's time we were leaving this place." He started back toward the car, and Amy followed, trying to watch her footing. There were icy spots under the snow, and she almost slid down the side of the mountain more than once.

They reached the bottom, and Amy whirled as she heard the sound of many feet crunching through the snow. There was nothing there behind them, but she heard the sounds of many people or creatures around them. A black murkiness set in all around them, dimming the lights of the town. "Will? What's going on?"

"It's the Dark again," he replied. As if she couldn't tell that. "Get to the car; we'll be safe there."

She nodded, then walked quickly past him as the wind picked up, flinging snow into her face, trying to blind her. The wind howled, but she wasn't sure that is was only the wind. All around her she felt dark presences, reaching out to try and touch her, to take her soul. Bile rose in her throat, and her blood starting running chill. Her breaths started coming in short gasps. Why did the car seem so far away? How could she ever reach it before they got to her?

She broke into a run, and she heard Will call after her to be careful. The Sign burned at her throat, almost painfully hot, and she tore it from around her neck and ran with it in her fist as the snow flew around her, big, blinding flakes driven by fierce wind.

The first sign of real trouble, though, was when she felt the twisting, searing pain in her ankle as she slipped on a patch of ice. She tumbled to the ground, rolling once or twice, before coming to rest in a woolen heap staring up at the thick blackness from the music department. Her head hurt; she must have hit it on some rock or other. She felt for the Sign, the only protection she had left to her, but it had rolled out of her reach when she fell.

Just as the blackness was about to close in on her completely, the howling voices turning eerily triumphant, there was suddenly someone huge and bathed in light standing between her and the darkness. Will Stanton raised his forearm at the Dark, sleeve pulled back, speaking in some language that she knew she would never remember. He seemed very angry, but it was a pure, righteous sort of anger that she had never seen before in her life. The howling changed in pitch and intensity, and then the blackness was gone, leaving her with a very upset-looking Will and softly falling snow in the light from the town.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, helping her sit up. His voice was loud in the sudden silence. She was grateful that he did not try to help her to her feet; she wasn't sure that her now-throbbing ankle could handle it.

She nodded, and looked at his exposed arm. There was a strange sort of scar there, a scar that matched the jade Sign. He saw her looking at it, and pulled his sleeve back down. She reached out to touch his arm gently. "Willâ€ the Sign?"

"A reminder of early foolishness," he explained. "And useful more than once." He stood, hunting on the ground near her, and bent down to pick up the jade Sign. He handed it to her. "Here. I think this is yours." There was no judgment of her actions, no condemnation.

She took it from him, and her guilt and shame at her own foolishness made her start to cry. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I was so stupid. I don't know why I ran like that."

Without a word, he picked her up from where she sat and carried her like a child to the car, setting her on the seat so he could take a look at her ankle. "It looks pretty bad. It will definitely need to be iced and wrapped. It might not need a doctor, though." He looked away, and he seemed to be fighting with himself about something. Then he turned back to her. "I can take you to my place and get it bandaged up, but then I need to take you home."

She nodded her understanding, and he helped her swing her bad ankle into the car with minimum pain, shutting the door behind her. They drove in silence, and Amy could sense that Will was troubled about something. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'll explain when we get to a safe place."

"Okay," she sighed. She hated waiting, but she really didn't have much of a choice.

****


	8. Will's Apartment

A/N: Okay, okay, okay. You all win. That's all I'm saying about this one. Again, thanks for all the reviews; I should have the next few chapters ready for posting soon!

****

**Chapter 8**

Amy and Will arrived at an unremarkable apartment building, and Will helped her limp up to the second floor. Every step was becoming agony, and she could see the swelling when she looked down at her feet, but she bravely bit her lip to keep from crying out.

He led the way into a small apartment, turning on the light and helping her to the couch to sit down. It was pretty tidy, with most of the mess consisting of books everywhere- closed books, open books, books with notes lying next to them on the kitchen table. "I'll go get some ibuprofen," he told her. "Go ahead and take off your coat and try to make yourself comfortable."

She did so, staring at the strange decor. Masks from all over the world hung on the walls, along with posters of every kind of place and culture imaginable. The furniture was rather standard but quite comfortable. It was the kind of place where Amy felt safe and secure. Holly and berries decorated the windowsill and there was a bit over the doorway. _Odd_, she thought. _Christmas isn't for another three months. _

Will returned with a glass of water, ibuprofen, and an ace bandage. "Can you get your shoe off?" he asked after she swallowed the pills, more than the little dosage she would take for a headache, silently urging the medicine to take effect quickly.

She reached down, untying her shoe and grimacing at the size of her ankle. It was twice the size of the uninjured one. She tried to push the shoe off, but any sort of pulling motion on her ankle was going to make it hurt like nothing else. "I'm going to need some help," she admitted.

He bent down on one knee, examining the ankle again, and grasped the shoe. "Ready?" he asked her.

Biting her lip already, she nodded. He pulled, and she winced as agony shot up her entire leg. They repeated this for her sock, and then the ankle was exposed, bruised and swollen. "I'll go get some ice," he said, standing.

"Thank you," she called after him. Really, it was awfully nice of him to bring her here. He could have taken her back to the college and told her to take care of it herself.

He brought the ice out in a big plastic bag with a towel wrapped around it. "Here. Ice your ankle for a minute, and let's see if we can get that swelling down."

She smiled thinly, but gratefully, as he helped her apply the cold to her ankle. She looked up at him, but all his attention was focused on taking care of the injury. Her hands were gentle, and she couldn't help but feel a bit flushed at the situation, just the two of them, alone... She laughed, clearing her mind of such thoughts. Will Stanton was so much more than just a man. She had seen that tonight. Why would he ever be attracted to someone as young and as foolish as she was? She was the one who had brought this injury on herself, after all.

"What's so funny?" he asked, although when his gaze met hers, she knew that he knew what she was thinking.

"I should have been more careful. I know how the weather around here gets. I should have realized there was ice. I shouldn't have been running, in the first place."

He smiled with her, and maneuvered her leg onto a pillow on the coffee table. "The Dark can get to the best of us when we're still new to it. It can get to us when we've been dealing with it for near twenty years or so, too." He sat down next to her. "Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded. "Yes. What about you? You seemed so angry back there. Why?"

A shadow passed over his face, and that impression that he was fighting with himself hit Amy again. Finally, she could see that he wasn't going to lie to her. "I was furious with them because I'm tired of seeing people I care about suffer because of the Dark." He avoided looking at her, and he suddenly seemed younger, and more vulnerable. He was not used to showing much real emotion, she realized.

She opened her mouth to reply, but she really wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She knew that he didn't want anything to happen between them. She knew that he wanted to avoid making any sort of attachment. And she also knew that he was lonelier than any one man had a right to be.

"I'm sorry," he told her, standing. "You don't need my emotional issues on top of yours."

"Will," she said, reaching out to grab his arm. "Please."

He met her eyes, studying her face, and she did not turn away from the conflict that she saw there. "Amy, the last person who cared for me like you are starting to only ended up hurt in the end. I don't want that for you- for us. I'll admit it. I'm selfish. I don't want that responsibility."

She nodded. "I understand, I guess." She looked away, studying the posters on the wall. "What's with the holly?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It's a particular type, all the way from England. It's a protection from the Dark." He went over to the windowsill and grabbed a bunch, bringing it back to her. "If you can convince your roommate, I think your room could use some."

She accepted it gratefully, although she was a bit miffed. She felt, well, rejected, even though she really did understand his reasons. "Thank you." She looked up, startled, as the lights flickered.

Will went to the window, peering out through the blinds. He frowned, and Amy saw worry cross his face. "Looks like we're about to get one of your Wyoming blizzards," he told her. "I should get you home now, before you're stuck here all night."

Amy fought down the urge to say that she wouldn't mind that at all, but Will must have heard her thoughts, because he laughed and turned a bright red. "I'm afraid that would ruin our reputations completely, dear one."

She laughed, her tension melting away. "Everyone's already talking. Candace thinks I'm having some sort of horrible affair, and some people are starting to speculate that you're royalty in hiding."

He really laughed at that one. "Oh, my mum would love to hear that one. She's the queen of the Stantons; I don't think she wants much more than that."

Amy laughed as the lights flickered again, then sobered quickly. "What does it really look like out there?"

"Here, I'll help you," he replied, helping her to her feet and over to the window. She was grateful for his strong arms steadying her as agony shot through her ankle again. He led her over to the blinds and let her look out. Already the street was covered in white, and the wind battered the snow against all the street signs at a wild angle. Telephone lines and stoplights whipped in the wind She was willing to bet that there was a lovely layer of ice under all that snow, too. "It's not safe to drive until after the snowplows come through," she told him. Reputation or not, she had lived in Wyoming a lot longer than Will and she knew when it was dangerous.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He seemed almost nervous to have her here, like he was afraid that she would try something crazy.

She nodded glumly. "That's some serious weather." She looked at her watch. "The plows won't be through until the snow lets up or until everyone needs to get to work, probably early in the morning."

He nodded, and she could see the way that he was weighing his options. For a small moment she was afraid that he was going to insist on driving her home in this weather. "I have extra blankets," he said at last, "if you want to make yourself comfy on the couch."

"Thank you," she told him again as he helped her back to the couch. The ibuprofen was starting to kick in, making her ankle slightly numb but still throbbing.

"Let's have a look at that ankle again," he said, taking the ice away and examining the bruised leg. "The swelling's going down. I'm going to go ahead and wrap it." He set to the task with gentle hands, and Amy fought to keep herself under tight control as the lights flickered again. She hated storms where the power went out. It left her feeling exposed to the darkness. She supposed that that would be more the case tonight than ever before if there was a blackout.

"Don't worry," Will told her in a calming voice. "I have plenty of candles, and the Dark can not enter this place uninvited. We'll be fine."

She nodded, trying to believe him, but a familiar panic was starting to set in. Even in her dorm room she had the streetlights shining through the window to keep her company. She was afraid of the dark, and always had been. The lights flickered again, and this time died. Silence set in as the heater died, leaving only the sound of the howling wind. A low whimper forced its way past her control. The Dark was behind this blizzard; the Dark was really coming to get her this time....

"It's okay, Amy," he reassured her. "I'm going to go get some candles. I'm not leaving you." She heard him go into the kitchen and fumble around for a minute, and then the light of a flashlight lit up the space with eerie moving shadows. "Ah, there's my torch," she heard him say in triumph. "Now all I need is some matches."

He returned to the small living room, setting a large vanilla-colored candle on a plate on the coffee table. "This should give you plenty of light all night," he told her, lighting it. It gave off a warm and friendly glow, and she felt herself relaxing as the golden shadows played on the walls. Even the odd masks he had seemed to come alive, reassuring rather than frightening.

"The Dark is not going to get you here," he said as he went to a closet between the bathroom and his bedroom, and brought out a thick-looking blanket and a pillow still in its plastic bag. "You'll be safe here." He yawned. "I need some sleep."

She took the blanket from him gratefully, looking up at him and catching his arm again. "Will? Stay here for a few minutes? Please?"

He sat down next to her on the couch. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything but the Dark," she replied. "I want to hear more about England. I want to know why you won't let anyone get close to you." She yawned. "I want to know why you won't let me get close."

He smiled, but the lines on his face were clear. "I've already explained that the last person who got close to me ended up getting hurt. I don't want that to happen to you."

"Do you like me?"

He nodded, but it seemed like the admission took a lot of strength out of him. "I do, Amy. But you're so young. There are things about this world that you don't understand yet, and things about me that you can't understand. Loving me would only destroy you."

She reached out and took her hand in his, and, to her surprise, he did not pull away from her. "I'm old enough to see that you're hurting, and that you're lonely, and that I am in a position to do something about it but you won't let me."

He laughed softly, almost bitterly. "Are you falling in love with me, or with the idea of helping me?"

She didn't know how to answer that one. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"Sometimes." He reached out and pulled her close to him, holding her against the dark and the sound of the wind outside. Surprised, she let him, snuggling close to him. She felt safe there, and he smelled good. "Sometimes, Amy, it is the same thing, and sometimes it's not. I just want you to be sure about your own motives."

"I think I am," she replied, pulling the blanket over her legs. It was getting colder with the power out, without the heater, and the ice had frozen her ankle to the bone.

"You think that you're sure?" Will teased.

She laughed. "Yes. I think sometimes that's the best we ever get as humans."

"Fair enough, then." He held her there, staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts, and she yawned again, closing her eyes. Even if he only stayed until she was asleep, that was enough. She let herself relax, and soon found herself drifting in the blessed darkness of sleep.


	9. Dreams of Destruction

A/N: I really should not write things like this at midnight while listening to Evanescence... Thank goodness for mint Oreos and a glass of milk and a warm husband to cuddle up to when I'm done writing something this creepy. Reader responses at the end this time; thanks for all the wonderful wonderful feedback!

**Chapter 9**

Amy stared at the snow-covered desert and the heavy gray clouds, feeling the wind blow across her face. It was a warm wind, and carried with it a smell of smoke and a threatening feeling. Something was seriously wrong.

She began to run toward the college, running to the safe world that she knew. Flakes fell on her sleeves, gray flakes that did not melt like snow should. A reddish glow reflected off of the rolling clouds of darkness that came from the other side of College Hill, and Amy knew before she started to hear the screams and flames that there was trouble in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

She reached the crest of the hill and looked down to see that the town was burning. Everything, everyone, was being destroyed by the darkness that swept forward out of the desert, along the lines of the railroad, toward the mines, into the city and up to the college. The Dark was destroying this place, taking its people and turning them against each other.

Where the black, oozing mass of evil met the town, fires blazed. Amy could see people scurrying, trying to put the fires out, but it was too late. There was no way to stop what had been started.

Amy ran back out to the desert, trying to escape the horror below her, but the flames followed her as though alive, directed by some intelligent mind. Ash made drifts on the ground, like heavy, malicious drifts of snow. She ran up the side of White Mountain, and turned around because she could not go any further.

The Chinaman was there behind her, his dark, hateful eyes red in the reflected light from the blaze. "There is no escape from the Dark, Amy. You had your chance to join us, to escape this."

Amy could not say anything as he advanced on her, but relief came in the form of a figure cloaked in dark blue rising out of the darkness behind Dr. Cheng, bathed in light. "Will!" she managed to croak against the heat.

Cheng whirled around, and Amy knew that something was wrong when she saw the look on Will's face. It was almost feral, eerily triumphant in all the wrong ways. He had his prey, but for all the wrong reasons. Cheng raised a wicked-looking dagger and plunged it into Will's chest, causing light to spill from the man in the blue cloak, to spill on the ground like blood and be swallowed by the creeping blackness.

"NO!" Amy screamed, unable to move, unable to do anything but stand and watch as the man of the Dark tossed Will's body aside like a useless doll. How could Will have failed?

The Chinaman laughed. "And so the Watchman perishes. Watch, Amy, watch what happens to those who challenge the Dark."

She looked down as her feet grew cold to see the blackness creeping slowly up her legs, felt the howling winds all over again. Suddenly her viewpoint shifted, and she was watching her own body be devoured by the blackness, watching the whole world succumb slowly to the creeping, oozing Dark without Will there to stand in the way. She felt herself growing colder and colder as her vision grew dimmer....

And then she jerked awake, reflexively reaching for the throat of the person standing over her. Will froze in mid-action, holding the blanket that had slipped off of her in her sleep. "Amy, it's me. It's okay. It was a nightmare."

Breathing hard, she let go of his neck and flopped back against the couch pillows. "It was a bad one," she told him, feeling like she was making the understatement of the year even as she fought back relieved and scared tears.

He finished covering her back up, sitting on the edge of the couch. "But it was just a dream. It's getting pretty cold, so I came in to check on you. You had managed to kick off your blankets."

That would explain the cold in the dream slowly creeping along her body. "Is the power not back on, then?" she asked, looking at her watch. It was almost one a.m.

He shook his head in the warm candlelight. "No, it's not. I'm starting to worry that the Dark has a hand in this storm. There are going to be a lot of cold and angry people tomorrow."

She nodded her agreement. "If it gets too bad, they'll set up shelters at the schools. But there has to be something we can do." There had to be something she could do to stop the dream from becoming reality, no matter how symbolic the flames may have been. She had to keep Will alive.

"We'll figure something out," he reassured her.

"Good." She looked away, trying to will away the images and the feelings of the dream, but not succeeding very well. She sat up. "Will? Don't do anything stupid in your hunt, okay? I don't think I could stand it if you were hurt."

He laughed, although he knew she was being serious. "I won't," he promised. "Did you dream something?"

"You died," she said simply, already beginning to be able to block that image out.

"I'll be careful," he promised again, drawing her into his arms again. "Don't worry about me. You need to be careful, too. They'll come after you with more fury than ever if they ever learn about tonight."

"They won't," she promised. "Not from me, anyway."

He nodded. "I know. Anyway. I'm going back to bed. Sleep well, Amy, and don't worry about any more nightmares." Then he was gone, leaving her with a warm but empty void where he had just been sitting. Frustrated, and ashamed at her own feelings, she curled up into a ball against the cold and tried to get back to sleep.

But sleep wouldn't come, no matter how hard she tried. She was too busy trying to sort out her complicated feelings and trying to make sense of the dream. This dream was very clearly a warning that not all was as well as it had seemed. It was quite possible that she was the reason that Will wasn't able to hold to the Light properly. If she was distracting him, then he might not be able to face Cheng with the proper strength. Maybe it was time that she got out of this, out of Will's way, and out of danger. This was not what she had signed up for.

Tears came unbidden to her eyes, and she rolled over to face the back of the couch. She had been perfectly content to avoid guys in general this semester. What was with her timing? And why someone who had to be at least ten years her senior and not even completely human? She really needed to do something about her taste in men. Once again, her misery was her own fault.

She sat up, and a thought came to her. The college really wasn't that far away. She could leave now, before Will even realized that she was gone. She had made longer walks in the middle of the night, in the cold. He ankle might slow her down a bit, but she could deal with that. She could get out of here and Will wouldn't have to worry about her any more.

She realized that her thoughts were kind of stupid, but the snow seemed to have slowed down quite a bit, and she really had walked longer walks in the middle of winter last school year. She nodded to herself, and scouted for her shoes on the floor. It took a bit of work to get them over her ankle, but she was okay. It really didn't hurt that much right now, and she would get more sleep and heal better in her own bed instead of on Will Stanton's couch.

She grabbed the holly that he had offered her, and made sure that she had the Sign secured around her neck. She vowed that if she ran into the Dark this time, that she would face it instead of running like a cowardly little girl. Will might not have offered up any condemnation for her cowardice, but she had been beating herself up all night for it. If she had been braver, she never would have run and so never would have hurt her ankle and ended up here where she would realize that she really was falling in love with the man, which could only end in hurt feelings and loneliness for both of them.

She buttoned up her coat and put on her hat and gloves, then took a deep breath and looked out the window. The snow had stopped falling, and the wind was calmer. The wind never stopped in Wyoming, but this wasn't the dangerous blizzard-wind of six hours ago. She scribbled a quick note to Will on the notepad attached to his fridge, and unlocked the door. For a brief second she hesitated, but she needed to get out of here before her own emotions and hormones drove her crazy. She would be just fine.

She closed the door quietly behind her, hoping she didn't wake him up. The night air was crisp and very cold, and it brought energy back to her limbs. Here and there in the tattered clouds, she could catch glimpses of the full moon, providing a silvery light that she could see by, since power was still out and none of the streetlights were on.

She started out toward the college, stubbornly ignoring the cold, dull throb in her ankle, waiting for the weather and two-inch deep snow that she walked through to numb it for her. It was quiet and peaceful out at this time of morning, and she found herself almost cheering up. This was one of the things that she loved about Wyoming. Even surrounded by people in their houses, she was as alone as she wanted to be.

Every so often, she would see a pair of headlights at the next usually-busy cross street, but except for the people that were trying to get home to their families, there was nobody out on the roads. So she was very surprised when a black car pulled up next to her and rolled down its passenger-side window. "Do you need a ride somewhere, Amy?" Her blood went almost as chill as the air around her as she recognized the soft voice, a combination of Asian and British accents.

"No, thank you," she told Dr. Cheng, and kept walking, determined not to let him scare her. Where had he come from? Did they know where Will lived? Had he followed her from Will's apartment? There was nothing he could do to her, she reminded herself. Not while she still held the Sign of the Light.

"Amy, it's cold out there," Candace's voice came from the car. "Come on."

Amy stopped, torn between fury and stubbornness. How dare he use Candace like this! "I think I'll keep walking, thank you," she replied.

"I don't think you will," Cheng said, stopping the car in front of her and getting out. "It's too cold to be out here on a twisted ankle. And I have an interest in seeing you out of this weather."

"I'm sure you do," Amy replied, stopping. The Sign burned at her throat, but she knew this time that the heat wouldn't hurt her. "Out of this weather, out of your way. There's no way I'm going to let you hurt me or Will."

He laughed. "You've already done enough damage to Stanton yourself. He is becoming distracted, unfocused. This is why you are out here instead of safe in his apartment, is it not? Because you can't stand the thought of being the one who causes him to fall?"

She squirmed at how easily he could read her, and read the situation, but she was too stubborn to let him get to her. "I need to get home, if you don't mind," she told him, worry growing. It was late, and there was nobody around to stop him from destroying her where she stood if he wanted.

"I do mind. I am tired of you meddling with things that you do not understand. Now get in the car, or I will kill your friend." His voice was cold, and she could see the burning hatred in his eyes grow more intense.

"Well, when you put it that way," she grumbled, climbing into the backseat with Candace. Amy looked at her friend with concern. Candace was pale, with dark circles under her eyes, but there was a power there in those eyes that frightened Amy. "Are you okay?" Amy asked her.

"Better than ever." Candace's voice was the same, but there was a clipped, tense quality to it that Amy had never heard before.

Amy snorted in laughter. "Yeah, right." She reached into her pocket, clutching the holly that Will had given her. "You're playing with things you don't get, girlfriend. You're in over your head." Like she really had room to talk.

"I think you might be the one in over your head, Amy," she replied, and Amy had to wonder what had happened to the girl who was her best friend. Did power really corrupt that easily? Maybe it did, in some who were so hungry for it they would betray friends.

They turned and drove the other direction from the college, and Amy felt her adrenaline rise even more, even as she fought to keep calm. "So," she began. "Where are we going?"

Dr. Cheng only laughed.

**Reader Responses**

Pullmanlover, you have no idea how hard it was for me to keep this, well, real instead of writing the trashy fluff. Maybe I'll have to write a bonus "trashy fluff" chapter when I'm done with the actual story...

Sorrowful Wind-whisperer, sometimes Will just has to remind me that, well, he is from England after all and he can't call a decent flashlight just that. (and shhh! You're going to give away the story! :P )

Eldrice, I don't rightly know who Will's other love was. I just know that he's been in love before and that's all he feels like telling me. Silly characters!

Venus Smurf and Chyneua, thank you very much for the compliments! They keep me going when I get stuck!


	10. Will to the Rescue

A/N: Okay. Here's the deal. We're going to be moving here, and I don't know when we'll have internet access again. So I'm going to post most everything that I already have (and with which I am satisfied) in the next few days. It may be a while before my next update, especially if we don't manage to get internet before the baby comes. I know this is bad news for some of you, but I promise I will find a library or something and post at least a couple of chapters (assuming that I have time to write, of course; I only have six weeks to find a house and get a home ready for baby.... Gah!) Anyway. Reader responses at the end again, thanks always for the feedback! And as a last note, actually pertaining to the chapter here: I needed to do a chapter from Will's POV. After all, as a fanfiction, this story is really about him, right?

**Chapter 10**

Will woke up to the gray light of early morning sun and the sound of the heater turning on, and he let out the breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding. He had been so afraid that the Dark would bring in the bitter, killing cold that they had summoned years ago when he was eleven, back in England. He was not quite sure he wanted to face that again, not by himself. Amy had a kind of power all of her own, but no matter what his strange dreams said, he was not sure that she would be able to help him with things that involved the old spells and the gift of Gramarye.

He rolled over, groggily staring at his blinking alarm clock. It didn't tell him what time it was, but for once that was a good thing. He rolled back over, staring at the ceiling. What in the world was he supposed to do about the college student sleeping on his couch? The attractive, female, who-knew-how-many-years-younger-than-him college student on his couch, a little voice corrected him.

Something inside of him was trying to tell him that age didn't matter, that Amy was old enough and mature enough for him to tell about the Dark and that made everything okay. Reason was arguing with that little something quite loudly. Amy was too young for him. She was still a little bit naïve about the way the world was. She was barely aware of the things happening outside of Wyoming. She would never be able to understand what it was to be the only one of her people left, never be able to understand the kind of pain that his sister Mary had gone through because he was the target of scheming, aspiring new lords of the Dark. People he cared about suffered because of who he was, and it was not fair.

_Life isn't fair,_ a voice inside mocked him.

"That doesn't mean that I have to let someone else get involved," he growled out loud at that nagging inner voice. He rolled out of bed, still fully dressed from the night before, and slipped on his slippers as he tried to straighten his unruly plain brown hair with his fingers. He stood at the doorway of his bedroom, listening to see if Amy was awake yet or not. There was no sound from the living room, and something in his Old One's senses told him that something was terribly wrong here.

He went into the living room, all senses terribly alert, and found nothing but the blanket that Amy had been using last night, crumpled up on the couch. He took a deep breath. This was not good. He scanned the visible area for signs of a note. He knew her well enough already to know that she would not leave without leaving him a note. There appeared to be something new written on the notepad on the fridge.

He went into the kitchen and read the note, and then frowned. What was she thinking, going out in that weather with her ankle the way that it was? Was she looking for trouble? The Dark would have been waiting for her the moment she stepped out of this apartment; surely she should have realized this!

Anger battled with fear and worry as he carefully dialed the number she had left on the note. It rang a few times, and then a sleepy voice, not Amy's, answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi. Sorry to wake you up. Is Amy home?"

"Um, let me check." There was a pause as Amy's roommate looked. "No, she's not. It looks like she didn't come home last night."

Will's frown deepened. That was just what he had not wanted to hear.

"Is this Will?"

"Yes, actually."

"I'll let her know you called when she gets in, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." Her roommate hung up, and he put the phone back in its stand. If Amy hadn't made it home last night, then logic said that she had gone missing somewhere between here and the college. He hoped that she hadn't frozen to death in some snowdrift along the side of the road, and he hoped almost more fervently that Cheng had not been watching his apartment again and followed her when she left. But something told the Old One that that was the more likely solution here.

Something akin to panic began to set in. Amy was young, she was in the way of what Cheng wanted to accomplish, and worst of all, the Chinaman would know that hurting her would hurt Will Stanton. Someone else was in danger of being harmed because of her connection to Will.

He slammed his fist down on the kitchen table, furious at himself and even a little bit angry at her. What had he been thinking, bringing her here? Yes, her ankle had needed care right away. Yes, he knew that his apartment was the only safe place in all of Rock Springs. Yes, he knew that bringing her here was a risk, both emotionally and practically. Yes, he even knew that the Dark was always watching his safe haven, watching his every move. No, he should not have brought her here. And no, she shouldn't have left the safety of the apartment in the middle of the night! What had she been thinking?

He sighed, and went to the closet to get his coat, shaking his hurt hand. He was going to have to go find her. There was no bloody way he was going to let Cheng hurt someone else that he was starting to care about very much.

He stepped outside and breathed in the crisp, cold, clean Wyoming air, squinting against the sunlight reflecting off of the already-melting snow. A gust of wind flew past him, curling its fingers into the open collar of his jacket and blowing snow into his face. It must already be eight or nine, and Amy could be anywhere.

He started walking, seeing if he could trace the route that she would have taken to the college. By this time, the plows and many cars had been through, ruining any chance he may have had of tracking just a single set of footprints. He sighed, frustrated. How was he ever supposed to find her?

He was going to have to call on every gift he possessed, something that he didn't like to do without great need. He liked to keep a low profile. People tended to ask questions if he stood in the middle of a snowy field with his eyes closed, listening to the wind.

He sighed, wishing not for the first time in his life that Merriman were here, or any of the other Old Ones. In them, he would have had a circle of support and the help that he really needed right now to find one lost girl. Around another one of his kind, he would not have felt so self-conscious all the time, either, like some sort of gifted freak. But they were gone, only to appear now and then in dreams. It was something that he lived with daily and had eventually grown used to in younger years. At least he still had Bran Davies, but his oldest friend was back in England working for the Prime Minister and Will hadn't seen him in a year or two. It wasn't as though Bran remembered any of their adventures with the Dark and the Lost Land and the Tree anyway.

He went to the gas station across the street and got himself a cup of hot tea, and sat down on the bench outside where people waited for the Greyhound to think about the problem at hand. Chances were, Cheng was holed up in some apartment or little house somewhere, and very few people knew where that place was. Will tried to think if he knew of anybody who would have that privileged information.

Amy's friend Candace came to mind, and he shook his head. He knew why people did what they did, but it was still sad to see it all happen. Why didn't men see how they hurt each other? The Dark could be blamed for only a very small fraction of all the suffering in the world, and when he did his job right, Will knew that that fraction was shrinking every day. He finished his morning tea and crossed the street again to get his car. He was going to need to go up to the college if he wanted to find Amy and bring her safely home.

Ten minutes later, he stomped his shoes off on the doormat of the college's main building, and looked around. Where to start? According to Amy, Cheng had been guest lecturing in the anthropology department, so that was a good bet. He headed toward the darker hallways of the school, feeling like furious energy come to life. He wanted to know what had happened to Amy, and where she was. Students scurried out of his way, students that he normally would have smiled at in an attempt to spread some cheer around here. He remembered his rougher days of college well enough.

He arrived in the anthropology department just as Cheng was coming out of a classroom. With an angry wave of his hand, Will caught the rest of the college out of Time, wanting to face Cheng alone.

"We meet again, Old One." The Chinaman smiled, but it was not a smile that touched his eyes. It was the kind of smile that Will had seen so many other lords of the Dark wear when he was younger- an almost menacing grin. He spoke the Old Tongue, with his poor accent, probably in mockery of the Watchman. Will tried to delve into his thoughts, but came up against a solid black wall.

"What have you done with her?" Will demanded, not willing to play any games. He could not face Cheng here, not on this particular battlefield, and they both knew it, so he wasn't even going to try.

"With whom? The college student? What's her name? Ah, yes, Amy." He was taking his time, doing what he could to make Will's slow anger boil over. "I don't quite remember where she said she was going. She left your apartment because she didn't want to end up being used by you, you know."

Will glared at him. "You lie." The Dark always lied, or twisted some version of the truth. He knew why Amy had left last night; most of it was in the note.

"Admit it, Old One, you have feelings for her. She knows this, and I guess it just got too frightening for her. She's run away until you leave."

"I'm not going to leave until I'm finished with you, and you know that." The shadow of a doubt was beginning to grow in his mind. What if Cheng, lies and all, was right about Amy panicking?

"Then I suggest you stop wasting your time with college girls and get back to work, Watchman." Cheng waved his hand, and life around them in the college came back to life. Will growled, furious that the Chinaman had finally learned that trick, and even more furious that maybe Cheng was right, and whirled. The conversation was over, anyway. He was not going to get anything useful out of Cheng himself, but he might be able to find Candace.

He headed toward the T-Rex Grill, where he knew Candace would be waiting for Amy on any other normal day. She was there, and Will let himself breathe again. She would be able to tell him where Amy was. He stood out of sight for a moment, trying to get into her mind. Few people had thoughts as clear as Amy's, which was usually a blessing. Candace's mind was a jumble of guilt and exultation and betrayal and a sort of false happiness. Candace had gone over to the Dark, but she felt bad for what they had done to Amy last night.

_Come on, _Will urged silently. _I need more thoughts on that subject._ But Candace didn't seem to want to think about it. Will could understand. If he had just betrayed his best friend to a madman, he would be feeling pretty guilty and self-evasive himself.

He strode into the grill, and Candace looked up. At the look on his face, she got to her feet and tried to leave hurriedly. He crossed the distance between them in record time, not even letting her get her backpack on. "Sit down," he told her quietly, in a voice that would allow no arguments.

She hesitated, and Will wondered why. Did she really think that she could escape him if he had a mind to keep her here? She may have been one of Cheng's converts, but she knew nothing of the power she had sold her soul for while he was in full control of all his abilities. Reluctantly, she returned to her seat. "What do you want?" she asked. She was trying to be brave, and Will knew that he was scaring the poor girl. He felt bad about it, but Amy could be in more serious danger right now. Or worse, she might be dead. He chased that thought away quickly.

"I want to know what you did to Amy. Where is she? Where did you take her after she left my apartment?" He stared at her, trying hard not to blink. It unnerved people when he didn't blink, and they often told him more than if he wasn't staring at them.

"I don't know. It was dark, and I wasn't driving."

"Think, Candace. You know the place they took her. Where is it?" He needed to make the most of her guilty feelings, to make the most of whatever loyalty that she still had to her friend. "She might be in danger, and I intend to go rescue her."

"Dr. Cheng said something about it being right under your nose. Something about old roads." Candace was squirming in her chair. "Please, that's all I know. Leave me alone."

Will stood, thinking. Old roads? Could there possibly be Old Ways here in Wyoming? It might make sense, with all the ancient Native American lore that was out here. If Amy was hidden on or near an Old Way, then Will could find her. His heart felt suddenly ten times lighter. "Thank you," he told her, then took off running for his car. He would only have so much time to find her before Candace let Cheng know that she had spilled the beans to him.

He drove out to White Mountain, to the spot where he had taken Amy last night, and grabbed his cloak from the back seat. He threw it on and strode out into the sunshine, and closed his eyes, opening his mind to all his gifts as an Old One, needing to know where the old roads were.

The sunshine dimmed around him, and he opened his eyes as a cloud passed over the sun. In the dimmer light, he could see the glowing lines of two Old Ways, crossing somewhere south of town. He knew that once he could get onto one of those roads, most likely tread years and years ago by the shamans of old, that he could follow it with his eyes closed. The last battle had been in Great Britain, but that didn't mean that both Light and Dark had not spread their influence over the entire world.

He marked the location of the nearest one, and quickly made his way to it. Once he was on it, he felt just a little better. Speaking a few words in the Old Tongue, asking the Old Way for help, he started to walk into the desert southeast of town, out toward the Salt Wells area and the airport. He could sense that there was someone out here, someone who bore the Sign of the Light. They wouldn't have been able to take that from her without severe physical pain on their part, and he couldn't imagine Amy giving the necklace up without quite the fight. She was alive, then, but in what condition?

He followed the Way out to a housing development somewhere southwest of town, near the local phosphorus plant. One house just off the Way seemed to stand out in his mind, and he could sense that the Sign was there. He gave a little bow to the Way, which faded and left him there alone, for the time being. Now that he knew where she was being held, worry started to replace the anger. What kind of condition would she be in when he found her? Would she be okay? Or would he find her more like he had found his sister? If Cheng had even so much as looked at her wrong....

He watched the house from a rock, cloak pulled tight against the cold Wyoming wind. He needed to determine if Amy really was in there, or if this was some sort of trap. More than likely, it was both. He didn't know what kind of guards Cheng would have in there, or what they would be expecting. All he knew was that he was not going to let Amy be hurt just because of him.

He decided that the direct approach was probably best, and he crept to the back door. He was about to open it and sneak in stealthily, and maybe catch everyone in there out of Time, but the door opened on its own and he heard the sounds of a struggle. "Someone help!" Amy's voice came, igniting the blaze of fury that had been smoldering below the surface for a few hours now.

He yanked open the door, calling on full powers, and stood there in a blaze of light. He kicked at the arm of the man who held Amy by the ankle, not caring that he heard the elbow snap even as Amy was freed. He looked up as another guy, face bloodied, tried to rush down the stairs at him. Speaking a few words in the Old Tongue, he swept his hand toward the other thug and the guy was blown back up the stairs to crash into a wall.

Amy looked up at him as he stooped down, then laughed as though she found something amusing about the whole situation. "It's a trap, by the way," she told him, then passed out.

He scooped her up into his arms, noting her bruised face and swollen ankle as he glared at the men that had hurt her. He was so tempted to just finish them off, to make sure that they never hurt anyone again, but he had done enough and he didn't know how much of a trap this really was. "Tell Cheng that I will be coming for him soon," he told the one lying at his feet. "Tell him that he had better be ready for me, because the Watchman is angry with the Dark."

He turned and, wrapping Amy in the warmth of his cloak, headed back to the safety of the Way. He would deal with Cheng soon, but for now he needed to get Amy home.

**Reader Responses**

Pullmanlover, a bonus chapter is definitely a good idea. That way I can get all the trashy fluff out of my system without ruining the flow of the story.

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer, you have no idea how glad I am that you're enjoying this. As for a dance, hmm, well, I think something like that was actually already in the works. Do great minds just think alike? Or am I getting that predictable? :)

Eldrice, I'm glad I could make your day! That's one of the reasons I keep writing. If what I wrote didn't make people happy, I don't think that I'd be able to keep doing it.

Chyneua, thanks again for the encouragement!

Venus Smurf, thank you for the compliments! I do try to make the story flow smoothly, so it's always good to know that someone thinks that I'm succeeding! As for sleeping on the couch, well, it really was the only place suitable for sleeping other than his bed... :)


	11. An Old Familiar Face

A/N: Another one of the promised updates before moving. Not much else to say this time around, although some familiar characters that you might not have expected are starting to show up! Thanks for the feedback!

**Chapter 11**

Amy lifted her head at the soft sound of her name. She stood in a cold stone hall, lit by a warm and welcoming fire and decorated in tapestries. A high-backed chair stood in front of the large fireplace, turned so that Amy could not see the chair's occupant.

"Amy, you've forgotten," a very light, female voice came. The voice carried no reproach, no condemnation, but Amy could sense a little bit of disappointment.

"What have I forgotten?" Amy asked, puzzled. The voice was familiar, but weaker than she remembered. For all her trying, she could not put a face to the voice, either.

"You've forgotten what we called you to do." The voice was kind, but Amy could sense that it was capable of great power and great anger. "Come here, so I can see you."

Amy didn't dare disobey, so she crossed to the other side of the chair, welcoming the warmth of the fire. She was cold. An old lady, more ageless than old, sat in the chair, a great pink stone ring on her finger. Amy felt awed by her very presence, and she sank to her knees like a daughter at her mother's feet in front of the chair.

She remembered now, remembered the dreams of her childhood, remembered the promises that this woman had made to her in the nights before the nightmares came. "You've grown so much," the Lady said, a fond smile brushing her lips. "You've become a beautiful young woman."

Amy blushed. "But I forgot about the calling." How could she have forgotten such an important thing? How could she have ever thought that this woman was a mere figment of her sleeping imagination? She had promised Amy that one day she would serve a greater purpose, and that there would be a special man that she would be called to help in some sort of great quest.

"You did not forget everything. Your memory let itself lie dormant for a few years. Our young Will Stanton has brought everything back to you."

Amy thought it kind of odd to hear Will referred to as young, since he had to have the oldest living soul that she had ever met, but she didn't mention anything about that. "I'm in trouble," she said instead. She knew that she must be dreaming again; the Lady had explained one time that they could only speak through dreams. Her body must still be lying unconscious somewhere.

"I know. However, if you wait for Will to rescue you, then you will lead our Watchman into a trap. The Dark wishes to have him, and all those who serve the Light. You have the Sign, Amy. It may not be as powerful as other Signs, in other times, but it still carries protection against the Dark. You were also gifted with great intelligence. Use it. You are not weak, as you have let yourself believe for so long." Amy looked up at her as she continued. "Daughter of Light, you have the power to do anything that you must. You may never have the kind of power that young Will does, nor will you ever be called upon to face precisely what he faces. You do have the power to do what needs to be done. It may not be easy, but you can do it."

"I'm afraid," Amy admitted, thinking of the music department and the attack on the mountain. "I don't know what I can do to stop something like that."

"You can help our Watchman. Help him remember his mission, and protect him. Now wake, and get out of the place of the Dark."

The Lady faded from her chair, and Amy cried out at the thought of being left alone. The fire began to die behind her, leaving her in darkness until there was no light, only a pounding throb in Amy's skull.

She opened her eyes groggily, and tried to roll over. She found that she was tied down to a bed, spread-eagled but still fully clothed, coat and all. Great. This was just what she needed. She raised her head as far as she could to see that the door to the bedroom was just cracked. She could hear voices outside, and none of them sounded particularly friendly to her.

She tugged at her bonds, testing them. They had tied her up with cheap nylon rope, which dug into her skin painfully, but she was sure that given enough time she could work her way free. She twisted her wrists, trying to get her fingernails into the cord to pick it apart. She had to get out of here before anything happened to her; she had to warn Will that it was a trap.

She felt the Sign warm against her neck, and she stopped struggling to listen. There were footsteps outside in the hall, and they were coming closer. Making herself comfortable, she pretended to be asleep still.

The door creaked open and someone entered the room. She didn't dare open her eyelids even a crack, lest whoever was in there saw that she was awake. "She's still out cold," a male voice said, not one that she recognized. "When did the boss say he would be back?"

"Not until tonight," someone else answered, another guy. She felt her heart start to pound. What were they going to do to her? "We're supposed to keep an eye out for that Stanton dude."

"Well, you go keep an eye out and I'm going to have a bit of fun here," the first voice replied. Amy held her breath, waiting to see if she was going to be untied. It might be her only chance to escape.

"I don't think Dr. Cheng would like that," the second voice came, closer now.

"Don't worry man, you'll get a turn."

"If she wakes up, she's going to tell on us."

"Who is she going to tell?"

She could think of a few people that she would tell, starting with Will. If she thought that she had seen his ugly side the other night in front of the dorms, then she could only imagine what he would do to anyone that hurt her after last night.

She felt the Sign grow warmer, but almost comfortingly, as she sensed them both moving toward the bed. She held her breath as they untied one foot, followed by her injured ankle, trying not to wince at the rough treatment. She peeked through a slit in her eyelids, and saw that the second guy was going to untie her arms. Idiots. She was so tempted to laugh. Idiots! They were going to give her the chance she needed.

As soon as she was free, she opened her eyes and surprised the first guy with a good hard kick to the groin. He went down, swearing, as the second guy leaped on top of her, trying to hold down her flailing arms and legs. He reached for her throat, trying to subdue her that way, and drew back cursing as the Sign burned his hand. She shoved him off of her legs and rolled off the bed, landing on her knees. She scrambled to her feet and started for the door, only to have her bad ankle caught by the first from his place on the floor. She cried out in pain, and kicked backward with her other leg. She was lucky enough to catch him with a glancing blow to the nose. He let go, alternately clutching at his bloody nose and his manhood as he shouted at the other one to catch her.

She was out the door and headed for the stairs, running as fast as her bad ankle would let her. She slipped, and slid most of the way down the stairs on her rear end, stumbling to her feet painfully at the bottom. The second guy was right behind her, and he caught her by her ponytail, jerking her back painfully as he kicked her knees out from under her.

She fell to her back on the floor, and rolled before he could straddle her. He sat down on her back instead, and she gasped for air. How much did he weigh? "You're not going anywhere," he laughed as he pulled her head back by the hair.

She looked around desperately for something that she could use to get him off, and the only thing that came to mind was the Sign. She yanked it free, breaking the chain, and reached back to pry his hand from her ponytail. He shouted as she held the Sign to his hand, then rolled off of her. She scrambled as fast as she could, not even fully on her feet, for the nearest outside door, Sign clutched in her fist.

She could hear her pursuer breathing heavily behind her, and she reached for the doorknob of the back door and started to turn it. She was almost there....

He fell, but he grabbed her by the ankle as he went down. She went down again, smacking the side of her face very close to her eye on the doorknob even as she kicked out, trying to free herself. He was persistent, though, and she could hear his partner slowly making his way down the stairs to help. She had to get out of here, out into the safety of sunshine.

Her head spun and she fought to stay conscious from the blow to the side of her head. Black and white stars danced in front of her eyes as she struggled, reaching for the cracked-open door. She had to get out of here.

"Someone help!" she shouted, hoping that someone outside, any passer-by, would hear her and come to the rescue. As if in answer, as if he had been waiting, the door was ripped open and there stood Will, wrapped in his blue cloak and surrounded by a blaze of light. She could see the anger in his face, and fury blazed in his eyes. She felt a surge of relief and satisfaction. Will would make everything all right. He would take care of the men who were trying to hurt her.

He kicked the arm of the guy holding her, and she heard a horrible crack as the elbow was broken. Then, speaking in that strange language again, he waved his hand to send the other guy crashing into a wall. She could see his hesitation, and then he knelt down next to her, scanning her face and not liking what he saw. "It's a trap, by the way," she managed, and then the stars and the blackness and the stress were too much. She slipped gratefully into temporary oblivion as he scooped her up in his strong arms.


	12. Safe Again

A/N: I was so scared I wouldn't be able to update one last time when it told me that document manager was offline for repair! I even posted in the review section to warn that it might not happen! But I tried a few hours later before putting the computer away and it's good to go again! Yay! This is the last chapter I'll be able to get up before we leave in the morning. I promise that Chapter 13 is SO worth waiting for, especially for those of you cheering for romance! Thanks for all the reviews, here's hoping for a speedy next update, and happy reading!

**Chapter 12**

Amy tried to blink her eyes open, wincing at the painful tenderness in her right eye. Her eyelids were swollen shut on that side, so she looked around with just her left eye. She was lying in someone else's bed, covered with a thick gray and blue quilt. Soft light filtered through the holly-decorated blinds, and she smiled thinly. This must be Will's bedroom. She was safe here.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and set her feet down on the floor. She bit her lip to keep from crying out when she put pressure on the bad ankle, and winced instead. She heard motion from the living room then, probably Will waiting for her to wake up. He had rewrapped the ankle tightly for her, for which she was grateful as she got to two shaky feet. She could feel the bruises from her fight with Cheng's henchmen. Her scalp felt like one large bruise from having her hair pulled so hard, and she was surprised her hair hadn't been ripped from her skull. How long had she been out? How long had it been since Will had rescued her from her botched escape attempt?

Will appeared in the doorway, a worried expression on his round face. She smiled at him, trying very hard not to cry, and after just a moment, his face softened into that ready grin. He had no idea how glad she was to see him.

Her bad ankle shot sharp pain up her entire leg, and she plopped back down onto the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"My ankle... I think they broke it," she replied. She could see that it was swollen around the bandage, and turning into a lovely mottle of black and blue.

He nodded seriously. "I think you may be right. You'll have to go see a doctor soon." He folded his arms as he leaned against the doorway, much more relaxed than she had seen him in a few days. "I can't fix everything, no matter how hard I try."

"That's okay," she assured him. "How long have I been out of it?"

"All afternoon. It's getting to be about suppertime. Don't worry, you haven't missed any whole days or lost more than a few hours." He looked toward the kitchen. "I made some tea, if you'd like some."

She nodded. "That would be fantastic," she replied, getting to her feet again and slowly making her way over to where he stood in the doorway. "Thank you for coming to get me," she told him. "I wasn't sure that you would. She said that I had to save myself."

"She?" Will raised one eyebrow, even as he let her put her arms around him, holding her there in his warm embrace.

"The Lady from my dreams. She told me that I had to escape myself so that I didn't lead the Watchman into a trap."

Will laughed softly. "You almost had escaped when I got there. Who is this lady?"

"She's very old. She reminds me of a bird, the way that she's so frail but full of life. And she has this gigantic pink ring. She's been in my dreams for many years now."

Will laughed softly. "So they do care enough to talk to others," he said to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"The Lady is the oldest of the Old Ones. They've all gone on to other places, other planes. But they still talk to me in my dreams, still give me counsel. And, apparently, they talk to a few select mortals as well."

"She told me to keep you safe." Amy laughed. "Some great job of that I'm doing."

He laughed with her. "You're doing just fine. Come on, let's get some tea."

She followed him slowly to the kitchen, leaning on the wall and wondering at the change that had come over him. He was so relaxed now, here in his own apartment, a drastic change from the furious warrior that she had seen in the enemy's house this afternoon. She liked this side of Will. It was the side that made her feel safe and secure when everything else was going places in a hand basket.

He poured her a mug of tea and set a dose of ibuprofen next to the mug, and she settled herself into a chair at the kitchen table. "Are you hungry?" he asked her. "You've had a long day, and somehow I doubt that they fed you at that house." A flash of anger crossed his face, but it was gone quickly.

She nodded, and her stomach growled in agreement as she looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set over the western end of White Mountain, casting a golden glow over everything outside and in the kitchen. "I should get back to the school. My roommate is going to be worried sick about me. I have food there."

He sat down across from her, sipping at his own tea. "Just be careful tonight. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded. "I think I'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to go out in the middle of the night and get myself kidnapped again." She felt so stupid as she realized that everything that had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours was her fault.

"Why did you leave?" Will asked, leaning back in his chair. "You knew it was safe here, and that the Dark was waiting outside. So what were you thinking?"

She laughed bitterly at herself. "I was thinking that I couldn't stand being alone in this apartment with you any longer. I was afraid that my nightmares were because of me. I'm afraid that I'm distracting you from what you're supposed to be doing. If you're too busy worrying about me, then you can't fight the Dark like you're supposed to."

He laughed gently. "I'm always worried about my family, Amy. But I don't let that distract me. It's no different with you. Yes, I'm worried about you. But as you showed today, you're mostly capable of taking care of yourself."

"You still had to come rescue me. It was supposed to be a trap."

"And you kept them from springing it by keeping them busy. Stop worrying about me so much, Amy. I'm okay. I've been doing this for a while. They're not going to catch me that easily."

She looked away from him, ashamed at herself. Her ankle throbbed, a painful reminder of stupidity. Her hand throbbed where the scar from the dream scored across her palm, a reminder that she was supposed to be helping the man of the Light, not distracting him. She reached up, suddenly remembering that she had torn the Sign from her throat in an effort to fight off the punks at the enemy's house.

Will laughed, and dug in his pockets. "Here. You were holding onto this for dear life when I found you." He held out the jade pendant on its broken gold chain, and she took it from him gently.

"Thank you," she told him. She would not have been able to live with herself if her stupidity had lost them the Sign as well. That, and she kind of saw the pendant as a gift from Will. She didn't want to lose anything that he had given her.

"Amy, look at me," he ordered quietly. She did, meeting those gray eyes bravely. "Everything is okay. You made some foolish choices. But everything has turned out just fine. You're safe, I'm safe, and now I know that Cheng is planning something bigger than just an attack on me."

She shrugged. "Why don't we just go get him?"

"We can't just go kill him," Will told her. "There's a certain order to these things, a certain pattern and a certain timing. There will have to be certain things in place, certain events that have happened. I can't just march up to his door and blast his mind out of time and space."

"And why not?" Amy tilted her head at him. "Wouldn't it just be so much easier?"

He laughed quietly. "It would. But it's just not the way that things work here."

"Sure they do," she replied with a grin. "This is the Wild West, Englishman."

He laughed, and she saw suddenly the image of Will in a cowboy outfit, a bright shiny golden star on his chest and a pair of six-shooters on his hip. She giggled with him. "Sheriff Stanton," he laughed. "Oh, that's a good one. I wish things were that easy."

"Maybe someday they will be," she replied, trying to hope.

"Maybe. But for now," he looked out the window at the setting sun, "we had better get you home. You'll get a good night's sleep in your own bed and we can deal with everything else in the morning."

"What about Candace?" she asked. Her ex-best friend was probably the biggest threat that she faced right now. She still couldn't believe that Candace had sold her out for power. She shook her head, not wanting to think about that one right now.

"I don't think anyone will bother you tonight. I'll make sure of that."

"How?" She was confused. What could he possibly do? Stand outside her window all night? That would get funny looks for sure.

"I just will. Don't worry about it. You need rest. You need to heal." He stood, going to get his coat.

She finished the rest of her tea, then stood on shaky feet. He was right, as usual. She needed dinner and a good night's sleep and she would feel better. But there were a few things that she still wanted to know. "Why did you come to rescue me?" she asked him. "You should have just let me deal with my own stupid mistakes. Now they know that they can use me against you."

He sighed, and leaned against the open closet door. "I was accused once, when I was young, of not caring about the people that got involved in my battles. So now I try to care about every life that I end up holding in my hands. Sometimes I end up caring too much for some people."

"And even though you care about them, you still won't let yourself get any closer than you absolutely have to." Amy knew that he was doing everything he could to keep his distance from her, to keep her from getting too attached to him. "You would rather drive them away and stay lonely for the rest of your life than to let somebody new into your heart." She looked up sharply as he looked at her. "You're afraid because your heart is the only vulnerable thing about you, isn't it." It was not a question.

He nodded. "And I've worked hard to make it that way. I don't want to see everything I've worked for destroyed by a moment of my own weakness."

She nodded. "Understood." She grabbed her coat from the couch and went to the door, waiting for him. "Well, shall we get me back?"

They drove back to the college in silence, not exactly awkward, but not comfortable either. Amy just wanted to know what he was thinking. He had to be so mad at her for breaking his little bubble and making him care about her enough to come rescue her. So why didn't he show it? Why was he hiding what he was really feeling?

He dropped her off in front of her building. "Get some rest and eat something. We'll deal with this from a fresh perspective tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll come by after class."

He nodded, hesitating. "That will work," he said, finally. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved to him as she turned and went into her building, praying that Candace wouldn't be waiting for her and that everything would be just normal. Will waited until she was in the building, and then she saw his car drive away. She pulled herself up the stairs, grateful that the medicine she had taken back at Will's was starting to kick in. It wasn't nearly enough to make the pain go away, but it made it bearable until she could get to sleep and forget about it.

She entered her room without incident, and her roommate looked up from homework. "Where have you been? You look like hell."

Amy grinned. "Gee, thanks." She yawned. Food didn't even sound all that great anymore. "I'm going to bed."


	13. Sunshine and Something Blooming

A/N: Yay! I'm back! We managed to get into base housing right away! We won't have our furniture for another month, but I've got DSL and that's all that matters! All that means is that I have plenty of time to write instead of worrying about unpacking. Thanks to everyone who wished me luck on the move- the worst that happened was an easily-repaired flat tire.

I hadn't thought about a chapter from Candace's POV, but that could definitely be interesting. Anyway, I promised you all that this particular chapter was worth waiting for, and I hope I've delivered here.... Ah, for better or worse, it's going up. Reader responses at the end!

**Chapter 13**

Amy woke the next day to the sun shining through her window. He ankle throbbed, her stomach felt like a bottomless pit, and every muscle was either sore or stiff, but she felt great to be alive. It was a new day, and she was waking up safe in her own bed.

She rolled out of bed, looking at the alarm clock. She had missed English. She wasn't going to go to anthropology today. She just did not want to deal with Dr. Cheng. He would be furious with her for escaping, but she suspected that the two punks that had let her, and more importantly, Will, escape would receive the worst of his wrath.

She took her time dressing and making breakfast, knowing that she had all the time in the world if she wasn't going to class today. There was no way that she would be meeting Candace for lunch. She frowned as she flipped her pancakes. What was wrong with her best friend? What could have possessed her to join the enemy? Or had it always been her intent to leave Amy behind when they found some sort of real power?

She flopped the pancakes onto a plate, and limped over to the kitchen table. She was halfway through when the phone rang. She stretched to grab it, and answered after swallowing her mouthful. "Hello?"

"Amy?" Candace was on the other end, and Amy felt a kind of cold lump settle into the pit of her stomach.

"What's up?" Amy replied, not exactly warmly.

"You didn't meet me for lunch today, so I was worried about you."

Amy bit back a million different replies, none of them very nice. Had Candace even thought about what could have happened to Amy in that house? Had Candace been worried about her then? What about when Candace _drugged_ her with _something_ in a handkerchief, knocking her out? "I'm just fine," she told the other girl coldly. "Thanks for your concern." She hung up the receiver. She just was not going to deal with it.

The phone rang again, but Amy ignored it. Only when it kept ringing over and over did she bother do anything about it. She unplugged the jack from the wall and went back to eating her pancakes. She was too mad at Candace to deal with her ex-best friend right now, and she was pretty sure that she had good reason. This was not some petty disagreement; this was a serious breach of friendship.

She thought about all that had happened in the last few days. Had it really been only a week or so since she met Will Stanton? It felt like so much longer, more like forever. So much had happened to her in that short time, and not all of it as painful as her ankle. She smiled at the thought of him, knowing that she really shouldn't. But she knew that she was going to see him again today and that made everything that much better.

She caught the sound of the door at the end of the hallway opening, and she limped over to the door and turned the deadbolt. If it was her roommate, then she could go get the resident assistant to let her in. If it was Candace, Amy didn't want her in here. She would have to get their combination changed now, another minor annoyance.

Someone knocked on the door, and Amy ignored it, pouring more syrup on her pancakes. She was going to be stubborn to the bitter end about this one. When there was no answer, the person at the door tried the combination. A muffled curse was followed with a pounding on the door. "Amy? I know you're in there!" Candace's voice came. Amy ignored her. "Open up! I just need to talk to you!"

Amy shook her head as she finished her pancakes and limped over to the sink to do her dishes. Candace could pound all she wanted, but eventually the RA would want to know what was going on in her hallway. Candace had better have a good explanation. Of course, she would probably have some story about being concerned for Amy's mental health. Amy sighed. She just couldn't win.

She finished her dishes and left them to dry in the dish drainer, and plugged the phone back in. She limped back to the bedroom and grabbed her coat and car keys, and set up a chair by the door, waiting for Candace to go away. When the pounding stopped, and she heard the door at the end of the hallway open, that was when she stood and undid the deadbolt.

She turned out the lights and opened the door, cautiously looking up and down the hallway. Candace had given up and gone away. Amy checked to make sure that the Sign was in place on its new chain at her throat, since the other girl would more than likely come back looking for it.

She limped down to her car, watching carefully for anything that seemed out of place, sensing around her for the fear and hopelessness that indicated an impending attack from the Dark. There was nothing but the faded Wyoming autumn sun and the last stubborn bits of snow from two nights ago. Most of the snow from the blizzard had already melted in the October temperature seesaw. She was grateful for that, at least. It would make driving with a bad ankle less dangerous.

She got in her car, still looking over her shoulder, and locked the door behind her. She didn't like this paranoia at all. What had Will gotten her into, really? And why was she running to him right now, this very minute? It certainly wasn't to make her life normal again.

She made it to his apartment without incident, even though she noted which cars sitting in the parking lot had people just sitting in them when she got there. It was unlikely that anyone would try anything in broad daylight.

She pulled herself up the stairs to Will's apartment and knocked on the door. He opened it after a moment, looking not quite surprised. "Hello, Amy," he greeted her.

"Hi," she answered, suddenly wondering what she was really doing here. "I said I would stop by, so here I am."

He smiled that ready grin of his. "Come on in," he said, gesturing for her to enter. He was so calm, so cool and collected. Amy wondered how he managed when she found herself fidgeting at the edge of her seat on the couch.

"Candace is trying to act like nothing happened," she finally blurted, needing to start somewhere. She could not just sit in silence with him, not when he could quite literally hear her thoughts. Those were too loud for her own comfort right now. "I just don't get it. How could she possibly think that everything was okay?"

"I don't know. Could be that she's under some sort of spell. But her actions just don't seem to fit with someone who is being controlled. At least, not with someone who is being controlled by spell craft." He leaned back on the couch next to her, and she smiled at his socks as he put his feet up on the coffee table. They were orange and purple and black stripes with bats on them- Halloween socks.

"Cute socks," she laughed.

"I need to do laundry," he said sheepishly, shrugging. "And it is almost Halloween."

"I guess it is. The college always has a huge Halloween dance, and they've already got their posters up. I was looking forward to it, but I'm not sure it's going to be safe to leave my apartment."

He shook his head. "I can see why you'd be worried about Halloween." There was a distant look in his eyes, as though he was remembering some long ago event, and then he turned his attention back to the present. "It used to be the last day of the year, you know, the day the old year died."

She nodded. "I think the pagans still celebrate it that way." She studied him for a moment, trying to figure out what was so different about him today. He seemed younger, more relaxed, than he ever had in the time she had known him. Maybe that was just because he was in the sanctuary of his own apartment. Maybe he trusted her enough to let his guard down here. But if that was the case, why was there so much tension in the air between them?

"So why did you come today?" he asked her, even though he had to know. "There's not much we can do about Cheng at the moment. He's probably already moved his base of operations. We have to wait for him to show his hand again."

"I came because I don't like waiting," she replied. "And because I wanted to be someplace safe with the one person that can protect me from the craziness that is suddenly in my life. I'm not used to being kidnapped or attacked by dark forces or any of that. I'm not used to not being in control of my life, not like this. And I'm certainly not used to having feelings for anyone when I'm supposed to be concentrating on school, much less someone who is older than me and who has a mysterious, dark past. I don't want to be falling for you. You don't want me to be falling for you. You don't even want to think about falling for me because of your great quest. You won't acknowledge my feelings, and heaven forbid you should even think about acknowledging your own. You just keep living in this cold, remote world where nobody can reach you and try to heal your heart or relieve your loneliness for even just a little while." She took a deep breath. She hadn't realized that all of that was bottled up inside like that.

Will just stared at her, seemingly at a loss for words. He looked old again, tired and lonely. When he spoke again, it was very quiet. "You don't know what it would mean to love me, Amy. I don't stay in one place. I'm always focused on my job, the job of watching for and defeating the Dark. I don't have time to be in love, or the luxury of letting myself feel real emotion. And even if I were to settle down with someone, that person would grow old and die while I remained almost unchanged. I'm not like everyone else, Amy. You know this; you see it every day you're with me. So why do you insist on caring about me when all it can do is end up in your own pain?"

She smiled at him, the sweetest smile that she could manage, and put her hand on his arm. "Because nobody, even the Lady's Watchman, should be alone. You need a rest. I'm starting to think She wants me to help you have that rest, if only for a little while."

He placed his hand gently over hers on his arm, looking away out the window. "Maybe so, but there's unfinished business to take care of right now. We need to take care of Cheng before he destroys this whole city."

"Will, look at me." Amy was surprised at the gentle demand in her voice, and apparently so was he, from the way he turned. "You said yourself that we need to wait for him to show himself again. Let's take a day off."

"And do what?"

"Watch TV. Talk. Cook. Something. Anything that doesn't involve danger." She laughed. "I need a day off from danger."

She grew very still as he reached up to gently touch her black eye, her heart pounding as his gray eyes scanned her face. "Yes, you could use a day like that."

Embarrassed, she poked him in the ribs. "I just want to not think about the Dark today." He squirmed, and she raised an eyebrow. "You're not ticklish, are you, Will?"

He shook his head "no" far too quickly, the grin returning. "What would give you that idea?"

She tickled him in the ribs again, giggling as he squirmed away from her. "The fact that you're running away from me."

"Oh yeah?" he countered, and all of sudden she found herself on the receiving end. She laughed and twisted as he tickled her, trying in vain to escape from his strong grasp. She made it to the other end of the couch before she ended up pinned under him while he tickled her mercilessly, laughing.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Stop! Please!" she gasped, breathless and grinning. He backed off, still holding her down to keep her from tickling him again, and the details of the situation suddenly hit her. She turned a bright red as she realized that he was making no effort to move away, and that she rather liked this arrangement. He reached out with one hand to touch her cheek, the intensity in his gray eyes as he scanned her face suddenly far more than she knew what to do with.

"I really shouldn't be doing this," he said quietly, shaking his head and setting her hands free. He was suddenly more vulnerable than she had ever seen him, and that set her heart pounding faster than any attack from the Dark could.

She reached up and smoothed that one particular lock of hair out of his face, feeling suddenly very shy. "Doing what?" she asked innocently.

He smiled with a little laugh. "Falling in love again." He met her eyes, and the next thing she knew, his lips were pressed to hers, warm and gentle, but demanding at the same time. She responded, timidly at first, then with more passion as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she found one entangled in his hair and the other resting in the small of his back as he started kissing her face and neck gently. "Are you okay with this?" he asked, pulling back a moment to let her breathe.

She wasn't sure how to answer that one. Something told her that this was stupid, that they couldn't afford to get distracted this way. But something else said that this was what they both needed. She nodded, and smiled at him, relieved to finally be seeing some honest emotion from him. "Just be gentle with me."

"I will," he promised, and she knew that his word was good. With another kiss, he scooped her up in his arms to carry her back to his bedroom with the blue and gray quilt.

**Reader Responses  
**Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer: Aw, come on, can't you just see Will Stanton riding around the wild west on a white horse with a shiny star on his chest? And of course he'd have a white hat- he's one of the goodguys! :P

Eldrice: I figure if the circle of Old Ones extended all over the place, why wouldn't there be Old Ways in a place as haunted as the Wyoming desert? As for a chapter from Candace's POV, it's definitely something I'm looking into. And no, Amy's roommate doesn't have a name. She's just "the roommate". Probably stems from the ambivalence I felt about my own college roommates... but that's a story for another time. :)

Pullmanlover: I think I really like this Will too. Especially when he's at home. I want one....

Chyneua: As I've already said, I think that we can look forward to something from Candace's POV in the next little while. I have a hard time writing from the badguys' POVs, but it should be interesting at the least.

Callie: Nice to have a new reviewer! You're very welcome. I hope I can keep you addicted. (evil grin)


	14. Merriman and The Morning After

A/N: I'm glad you all liked Chapter 13! I was so afraid that it was going to be a make or break chapter for me- you know, the kind that can ruin an author. Anyway. Not much to say. No bed, no crib, and thankfully no baby yet either. I just keep writing.... Reader responses at the end!

**Chapter 14**

Amy looked around, recognizing the dream for what it was this time. The desert was now barren, burned-out under the snow and dark gray threatening clouds. She could see the remains of Rock Springs, blackened and empty, from where she stood on College Hill. A tall figure appeared out of the air next to her, wild white hair tousled by the bitter Wyoming winter wind. He wore a dark blue cloak much like Will's, and his face was fierce, reminding her almost of some sort of bird of prey. She knew that he must be another one of Will's Old Ones, just like the Lady, but there was an almost forbidding quality to him that she did not feel around the old woman.

"This is what the Dark will do to this place if they are allowed," he said, his deep voice falling oddly flat in the snowy emptiness. "Maybe not physically, but certainly spiritually. Indeed, they have already started. You know this, Amy, and young Will knows it too. The Watchman cannot afford to be distracted from his duties, not even by one that we have called to help him."

Amy felt her defenses go up. Old One or not, she did not know him and was not going to take orders from him that easily. "Are you telling me to not fall in love? If you are, it's a little late. I bet that next you'll try to tell him that he's supposed to be alone forever and ever and ever."

The white-haired man laughed, a true laugh that set her just a little more at ease. "We are not saying that you shouldn't be in love. We are saying that you both need to be careful. If you get so wrapped up in each other that you neglect your duties, then the Dark will certainly triumph here, and go on to other places to do the same thing."

"I know," Amy replied. She didn't need to be reminded constantly.

"Knowing is only half of the battle." He swept his hand out over the barren landscape. "But doing is the hard part."

She nodded, understanding. "What will happen to Will when he's done here? Will he just leave me behind? Will you tell him to leave me here?"

The man shook his head. "Young Will will have to decide that one for himself. You are still young, Amy, with many things to accomplish before you can just wander the world like he does. Eventually he'll have to return to a job, at least for a little while. It will probably be in England near his family. It's obvious that he cares very deeply for you, more than he has for anyone outside his family in a very long time. But you have to finish school because there will be other things we may call you to do. Some of those things you will not be able to do if you do not have a degree."

Amy tilted her head at him. "You mean that even after we get Cheng that there's still more for me to do?"

He smiled. "There may possibly be other things for you to do. There are always those servants of the Dark that hid in the final battle to save themselves."

"Who are you?" she asked finally. "You know so much about me and Will and the Dark and everything else that's going on."

"My name in the world of men for a very long time, and the name by which Will Stanton is most familiar with me, was Merriman." He started to fade a bit as he smiled again, becoming slightly insubstantial. "Tell young Will that he must look for the flames instead of merely blowing the smoke away. And be careful, Amy Howard. You are both in so much more danger than you realize." And then he was gone.

Amy looked at the spot where he had stood, and began to walk as the scene faded to black around her. She opened her eyes, blinking at the alarm clock on Will's nightstand. It was six in the morning, and from the particular shade of gray that was filtering through the blinds she knew that there was probably more snow on the way.

She smiled as she suddenly remembered what she was doing here in this bed, and snuggled up closer to Will, who had curled up around her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, still snoring softly. She closed her eyes, willing the morning world to go away, but she was wide awake now.

What Merriman had said was floating through her mind. She had not given much thought to what would happen when she and Will defeated Cheng. She supposed that somewhere in the back of her mind that she had always known that he would have to leave, but the fact hadn't quite registered. And what did Merriman mean, the Light would have other tasks for her to do? Wasn't helping Will here enough? And then there was the part about them both being in more danger than they realized. What was she missing here? How could they be in any more danger than what they had already faced?

After half an hour or so, she untangled herself from Will's arms and stood. He rolled over in the bed, pulling the rest of the covers around him without waking up. She kissed him on the cheek and then smiled, but it faded quickly. She was stiff and sore from the activities of the past day and night, although _that_ was mostly her own fault. Then there was the ankle throb that she was becoming accustomed to, and the tenderness of her black eye and the entire side of her face. She was really turning into a mess. She wondered where Will kept his painkillers.

She found her clothes scattered around the room, and dressed before heading out to the kitchen. She was starving. She looked through the cupboards and came up with everything that she would need to make pancakes just right. She smiled. She would not mind cooking breakfast for Will at all. She laughed quietly to herself. It was really amazing how comfortable and natural all of this was. It was as though she had known Will forever, and this was the way that things had always been.

She winced as she turned on her ankle, and almost dropped the bowl that she was carrying over to the stove from the pain. She really did need to get that checked out. Or take a karate class so she could learn to defend herself. Nodding to herself, she decided that that really wasn't such a bad idea. She wondered what Will could teach her. He had to have picked up something in his years fighting the Dark and traveling the world.

She spooned batter into the pan that she had been heating, and it gave a satisfying sizzle. The aroma of homemade pancakes began to work its way into the air, and she grinned. If this didn't wake him up, well, she would just have to think of another way.

About ten minutes later, he wandered into the kitchen, yawning. He was in flannel pajama pants and nothing else. She smiled at him as she studied him for a moment. She had to be right. With muscles like that, he had to have studied some sort of martial art or gone to the gym regularly or something. "Good morning," she greeted him, going over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

He sleepily returned the embrace, holding her there in his strong arms. "What did I do to deserve a homemade breakfast?" he asked.

"You decided to fall in love with someone who likes to cook." She pulled away from him, returning to the stove to flip the pancakes, smiling.

"That was pretty smart of me," he laughed, opening the door to retrieve the morning paper. He set it down on the kitchen table, not even glancing at the headlines, and came to stand behind her, resting his hands on her hips quite distractingly.

"What does the weather look like?" she asked, trying to stay focused on the pancakes so they didn't burn.

"Gray and gloomy. It looks as though it might snow again. We may want to just stay inside today and not go anywhere."

She laughed and shook her head at the lightness of his tone, wondering what had triggered the change in him. She had thought that he was unguarded yesterday, but this truly took the cake. What had caused it? And a better question- did it really matter? This was the side of Will that she truly loved, the relaxed, _human_ side of him, the side that was no different from any other wonderful man.

He went and sat down at the table, opening up the paper. She started the next pan-full of batter, and sat down across from him, yawning. She watched as his relaxed face darkened, turning into the familiar, unreadable Old One. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Here," he said after a moment, handing the paper to her. "I think we found our Chinaman." He stood, pacing the kitchen as she could see his mind working furiously.

She looked down at the headline. There had been an explosion at the phosphorous plant south of town yesterday, with four casualties. The worst part, as she skimmed the accompanying article, was that the authorities believed it to be sabotage or terrorism. No suspects were named, but she got a cold feeling in her gut that Cheng was responsible, no matter how indirectly.

"Great," she muttered, looking up at Will. "So much for taking today off, too."

He sighed, and she could see the responsible evil-fighter in him taking over. "Yeah, you're right. I guess we only get one day of distraction."

She thought back to her dream, and she must have frowned, because he asked, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I had another dream this morning. They warned me not to get too attached to you, because we both had work to do."

"Who did? The Lady?" There was skepticism in his voice, as though he would have believed something like that of the grand old woman just as much as Amy would have.

"No, this time it was someone else. Merriman." She didn't exactly spit the name out, but she still wasn't very happy about what he had had to say.

Will snorted, nodding with a wry smile. "He would. And he's probably right."

She looked at him, worried. Did this mean that what had happened between them yesterday was simply going to turn into a one-night stand? Was he going to turn out to be no better than the guys she had just stopped dating at college because they only cared about one thing?

He laughed as he heard her thoughts. "No, Amy, no," he said gently, coming to sit across from her again. He took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles, looking at her with the same intensity that had started all of this mess yesterday. "I know perfectly well what I started. I wouldn't have started anything if I were not willing to follow through, not with someone I still have to work with. You have my heart as long as you want it."

She would have swooned, if she weren't so upset about having to get back to business, or the dream. Merriman was right, but she did not want to hear. She leapt to her feet as the smell of slightly burned pancakes reached her nostrils, and raced to the stove as fast as her ankle would allow to turn the pancakes. Will followed, waiting until she put the spatula down to wrap his arms around her. "What's wrong? You seem really upset all of a sudden."

She shook her head, not wanting to admit to anything, but when he could read her thoughts, what was the point of trying to hide? "He's right, you know."

"Who is?"

"Merriman. You're going to have to leave eventually, and now I've gone and gotten too attached and whether or not you love me isn't going to matter when you have to go back to watching for the Dark outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Why Cheng picked an out-of-the-way place like this is beyond me. Besides the obvious reasons, I almost wish that he hadn't." She was amazed at her own mood swing, but she wasn't sure that she could control it. "If he wasn't here, you wouldn't be either, and I wouldn't have to worry about you leaving me."

He just held her tightly, not saying anything. At last, though, he spoke. "We'll deal with that when we get there. Right now we have other things to worry about. Like breakfast." He grinned that grin of his, and she blinked at the funny burning sensation in her eyes. "It smells so good; I would hate for it to go cold." He let go of her and got out plates and silverware, and poured a glass of orange juice for each of them.

She just looked at him, shaking her head. "What am I supposed to do with you, Will Stanton?" she asked, not sure if she was laughing or crying- or both.

He laughed. "I don't know. I don't know what to with me, either, sometimes."

She sat down across from him, setting down the plate full of pancakes between them. They dug in, neither of them trying to make conversation while eating. The silence was comfortable, though. Amy would have imagined so much more awkwardness between them this morning, but there was none. It was almost as though they had been married for years or something, although she knew that could never happen.

At last she spoke, leaning back and looking at her empty plate. "I need to get back to the college, and soon. I'm wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday and it's not exactly pleasant."

"Understood," he replied. "When do you want to meet again to go investigate this explosion? I have to go up to the college myself and talk to Dan Martin for a while, and then I'm free for the rest of the day."

"I'll come find you when I'm done changing, then. I could use some time on the pianos down in the practice rooms anyway."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you when I get up there, then."

She stood, trying to clear her place, but Will stopped her. "Don't worry about the dishes. I'll take care of them."

She smiled gratefully, and stepped in closer to kiss him. "I would love to just stay here all day," she sighed as she pulled away from him. "Just me and you and a big, warm, comfy quilt."

"Maybe tomorrow," he laughed. "We have work to do today." He kissed her on the forehead tenderly. "I would love that too. Maybe if it starts snowing while we're out there...." He left the thought unfinished, and she smiled at his grin.

"I'll see what I can do about the weather, then." She grabbed her coat, and headed toward the door. "I'll see you in a couple of hours." She hesitated as she unlocked the door and put a hand on the doorknob. "Will?"

He looked up from the dishes he was clearing, that one stray lock of brown hair falling so charmingly into his eyes as he did. "Yes?"

"I love you. I just wanted you to know that."

He grinned. "I love you too. Now go on, so I can see you sooner."

"Yes, sir," she replied, and closed the door behind her, grinning like an idiot.

**Reader responses:**

Pullmanlover: I'm glad that I'm managing to get across some of the old (young?) Will at times. It's so hard to get inside his head sometimes. He's complicated.

Chyneua: I'm glad you liked this one! I'm not much for romance either, but this one just begged to be written. :)

Eldrice: Nope, not gonna tell. :P Although Candace's reasons for all of this are going to be a little clearer in a couple of chapters. And Willie Nelson singing Christmas songs? Did you ever see that one episode of Animaniacs, way back when, where they ended up in hell? :D


	15. Candace's Vision

A/N: Oooooh! Plot development in this chapter- and lots of it! Updates might be slow from here on out. My house needs to get put together, and I've also decided to do the November National Novel Writing Month thing ) where I write 50,000 words by the end of November. Obviously other writing projects are going to have to go on hold, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do what I can with this story! As usual, thanks for the feedback; it's keeping me going when nothing else can on this project. Reader responses at the end!

**Chapter 15**

Amy sat down at the piano and began to play while she waited for Will. She wasn't very good, but there was something relaxing about just plunking out the notes. If she had someone in here to play for her, she would be singing, but she was all by herself.

She closed her eyes, just listening to the actual tones of the individual notes. When she heard the door opening behind her, she jumped and whirled around on the piano bench. Candace closed the door behind her, and locked it.

Amy was instantly on the defensive, folding her arms across her chest as she stared at her supposed best friend. "What do you want?"

"I just want you to hear me out. I think you're on the wrong side of all of this."

Amy raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, I'm on the wrong side? Right. Since when does Will go kidnapping people in the middle of the night, drugging them, and tying them up in some house where anything could happen while the master is away?" The bruise on the side of her face throbbed gently, a reminder of her treatment.

"Stanton thinks that he can use you to fight us, Amy. We were getting you out of harm's way. Be assured that the guys who assaulted you have suffered for it." She stood close to Amy, towering and somehow more imposing than Amy ever could have imagined her. "You should stay away from Stanton. He wants to stop the peace of a new world order, but he will be overcome and so will anyone that stands with him."

"New world order?" Amy bit off any sarcastic remarks she may have had, because this sounded important and she needed Candace to tell her. Will would be very interested in knowing what the plan was.

"He's granted a few of us the special gifts that he has, and we're out there using them to spread the message. Soon there will be just one world, starting in places just as small as Rock Springs. He's been all over the country, setting up branches."

"What message?" And did Will know that Cheng had been spreading his false hope all over the country? How many groups were there?

"The message that the world as we know it is to end soon, and that we must all be prepared. Those who become followers now will be granted exalted status in the new world, while those who fight us shall be destroyed."

"Candace, it's not like you to believe crap like that." Amy stood, refusing to be intimidated. "What proof do you have that anything at all is going to happen?" Amy had her dreams, and she believed those, but she also believed that she knew the rest of the story here.

"Because we will make it happen, if we must, to bring peace." Candace raised her hand, palm up, and began chanting in a language that made Amy shiver. A small, hungry flame sprang to life over Candace's upturned hand, and Amy found her hand at her own throat, unconsciously fiddling with the very warm Sign. "We have the power to make all believe, and to bring to pass this new world. Join us, Amy. We've been watching you. You have so much potential. Don't waste it fighting on Stanton's side."

Amy wondered what Will would say if he could hear all of this. She was pretty sure that he did not know how extensive the Chinaman's influence was. Or maybe he did, and he was trying to keep her focused on just the few people here in Rock Springs. "I think that I will stay where I am," she replied to the other girl's offer. "I don't need to sell my soul for your dark powers."

"Then you will be overcome by them." Candace reached out for Amy, placing her hands on Amy's temples. Amy struggled and tried to move away, but her ex-friend seemed to have developed an otherworldly strength. She closed her eyes, feeling suddenly heavy and unable to fight with Candace's hands on the sides of her head. The Sign burned at her throat, but she didn't care about that any more than she cared about her ankle or her black eye.

Visions and emotions began to pass through her, visions of a dark future in which the world was led to destroy itself, visions of fire and blood and sickness and in all of them death. Nuclear, biological, chemical, conventional- all forms of war came to pass, and after it all, the ravaged world fell under the dominion of the Dark. Candace had imagined herself emerging as some powerful leader, in the service of the new Lord of the Dark, none other than Cheng. Amy saw the world that she loved, and the people that she cared about, caught in the crossfire, destroyed completely. Where was Will, to prevent all of this?

Candace laughed and Amy opened her eyes, feeling very depressed and exhausted. "Stanton will fail here, leaving the way clear for our triumph. Which side do you want to be on, Amy? You're my friend; I would hate to see you killed because you refused opportunity."

Amy took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to calm her stomach against all the images that Candace had put into her head. "How many times do I have to say this? I won't join you."

Candace nodded, her face twisting in anger. She was very ugly, all of a sudden, her features distorted by a dark power that Amy had felt first-hand. "Then so be it."

She reached out to put her hands on Amy's head again, and Amy, too drained by the visions to fight, knew that there was no way she could defend herself now.

There was a crash outside the practice room, the sound of a music stand falling over, but it was enough to distract Candace. Amy backed away, finding her feet somehow and raising the Sign against the servant of the Dark. Candace hissed, an oddly inhuman sound, and turned her face away from the glowing piece of jade.

Then the door was wrenched open, even though Amy could swear that Candace had locked it, and Will stood there, very cold and collected. Amy could see the fury in his eyes, just waiting to be ignited as it had back at the enemy's house. She almost silently dared Candace to make another move closer to her. She would have loved to see what Will would have done then.

Candace shrank back, and her features became somehow more human as she cowered between Will and Amy. "I think you've done enough here," Will dismissed her, stepping into the room and out of the doorway. She had a clear path. Amy could sense that he was almost daring her to challenge him, to stay right where she was.

"This isn't over, Amy," she promised, and then she slunk past Will out of the practice room and into the darkness of the school basement.

Will shut the door and turned a very critical eye toward Amy, making sure that she hadn't been hurt. Amy was still shaking from the encounter, and especially from the visions. Those would haunt her nightmares for years, whether or not they came to pass. "What did she do to you?" he demanded, the fury still smoldering just under the surface.

"I'm okay," she promised, moving to stand close to him, trying to soothe some of his protectiveness. "She just showed me a picture of what the world would be like without you." She tilted her head at him. "Are you really that important?"

He half-smiled, a bitter smile at best. "I try not to think about it. But there are some things that only I can do, and they are all well aware of that fact." He looked away, thinking about some other time and place, and then turned a smile toward her, trying to conceal every negative emotion from her with little success.

She shook her head. "Why can I read you so well? I shouldn't be able to. I haven't known you long enough." _You haven't known him long enough to sleep with him, either, _an annoying, guilty little voice inside insisted. _That didn't change anything. _She blushed, hoping that Will wasn't bothering to listen to her thoughts. He seemed to be able to pick up on what she was thinking so much more easily than he could hear the people around her.

"Some people can just tell what I'm thinking because I don't care if I manage to hide it or not. You, and my best friend, and Merriman. Two of my older brothers, if I could risk letting them know what really goes on in my life." He took her hand, and she didn't protest. "Now. We need to go figure out the extent of the damage in town."

"Did you hear what she was telling me, then?"

"Some of it. I don't like it at all, but it just confirms what I've been suspecting for a long time." He looked away, struggling with himself, then turned back to her. "I need you to analyze what she put into your head, and try to figure out when and where they intend to strike here. I'm starting to think that you have quite a talent for dreams, and this is not much different. It will be the beginning of the end for all if they manage to take you and me by surprise."

The look in his eyes told her that he knew exactly how hard it would be for her, but he had to ask it, and she understood. And quite frankly, if he could carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, then she could swallow her fear and trepidation and try to remember exactly what she had seen for him. "I can do that," she told him. She felt like she could do anything that he asked. Silly emotions.

He smiled that ready grin, even though there were shadows in his gray eyes, and pulled her into his arms. "We're going to be okay. They aren't going to win."

"I know," she replied, wishing that it sounded like she really believed it. "Let's get out to the desert and figure out what's going on." She didn't want to spend any more time in this practice room. She was getting one major headache from the visions, and some fresh air would do her good.

They drove out into the desert, the approaching winter gray sky threatening them with snow to stop their work. Amy sighed, looking out the window as Will drove. There were only two more days until Halloween. She had been looking forward to the big dance that the college did every year, but she was starting to think that she wouldn't be able to go this year. She laughed at herself quietly.

"What?" Will asked, looking slightly amused.

"I'm just laughing at myself. Here I am, with the world falling to pieces around me, and I'm sad about not being able to go to the Halloween dance."

He laughed with her, shaking his head. "Nobody said you couldn't go."

"I know. There are just a lot of other more important things to do that night." She looked out the window, then gaped at the sight of the phosphorous plant as they rounded a bend in the road. The entire main steam tower was blackened, and several of the surrounding buildings had been destroyed. She was amazed that there had been as few casualties as the paper reported. "Holy cow," she breathed.

Will didn't say anything, but the look on his face told her everything she needed to know. The Old One was not happy with this at all. There was no way that if proper procedure were followed that this should ever be able to happen. Something more was at work here.

"I don't think they'll ever let us get close enough to see what we need to see," she told him.

"I think I've seen all I need to. I think Cheng has his hooks into more people than just the college students." He stopped the car at the side of the road, getting out to stare at the tower. Amy followed suit, brushing the hair out of her face as the bitter cold wind whipped it into her eyes. She had decided to dig out her lightweight ski jacket instead of lugging her wool coat around this time, and she was grateful it had a hood.

As they stood there, Amy marveling at the extent of the damage and Will coming up with some as of yet unheard theory, she felt a few snowflakes settle onto her cheeks and melt quickly. The wind howled at her, as if urging her to leave this place before something bad happened. "I think we ought to go," she told Will. "The desert is getting restless."

He raised his head, as if listening, and then nodded his agreement. "I think we've overstayed our welcome."

Amy hurried around to the other side of the car and climbed back in as the wind started to pick up. There had always been a kind of wild force out here in the desert, some power that seemed beyond good or evil. At times it scared her, like today, but at other times it was reassuring to know that it just _was._ Rock Springs was surrounded by forces like that. There was the Salt Wells desert out by the airport, where they were right now. White Mountain was an ancient, solid power to the north, on the other side of town. To the west, the road to Flaming Gorge seemed to be a dead zone, devoid of any natural power but full of something far more menacing. And to the east, there was the Red Desert- the most barren stretch of land Amy had ever seen, cradled in the Continental Divide Basin.

"Where would all the workers from a place like this hang out?" Will asked as they drove back into town.

Amy shook her head. "I have no idea. My best bet is Kilpecker's Bar or one of the truck stops. I know a lot of them come to the Village Inn when the bars close for the night." She came from a very different world, so she wouldn't know. She didn't ignore the blue-collar workers because she thought they were below her. She just didn't think about much outside college and her circle of friends in general. Will was starting to change that, starting to make her think about the way that things were interconnected.

"Maybe we'll go out tonight and see what's going on." Will's face was unreadable, and she wondered exactly what he was thinking. Was he starting to realize just how large of a problem Cheng really was? Amy got the feeling that he hadn't realized that Cheng had followers all over the country. Neither had she, until Candace's revelations this afternoon.

"What do we do until then? The bars don't even really fill up until nine or so. And I'm a few months short of legal to go into them anyway."

He looked at her, and she could see the wheels spinning in his head. "We can go back to my apartment, have some hot cocoa, and figure out what we need to do next. I may need to make a few phone calls. I don't like to admit it, but he's got a plan that I just did not see. I thought that he was just trying to lure me into some sort of trap."

"I think that's exactly what he's doing. But you didn't realize that he already had such extensive plans for when you're gone."

Will gave a rueful smile. "No, I didn't." He looked out at the ominous wintry clouds as they drove back into town. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

Reader Responses 

callie- I'm glad I've managed to keep you coming back! Amy is the type of person who won't give it away to just anyone- she would have to truly believe she was in love. That's where her saying 'I love you' comes from. Although you're right, it was quick, but don't expect to hear it said by these two too often.

Chyneua- yay! I'm glad that you're still enjoying my story! I hope I can keep Amy and Will believable for you....

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- Happy Holidays to you too! And speaking of Halloween, I think I know what to do for Will's costume to the dance now.... (evil evil grin)


	16. Trying to Figure Things Out

A/N: Agh! Every single writing project is going slowly! That's okay, because I'm still managing to update this one once a week! Not much else to tell this time. Reader responses at the end! Thanks for the feedback!

**Chapter 16**

Amy paced restlessly in front of the couch as Will talked on the phone, his accent and lingo almost impossible to follow as he talked to resources in England. Her hot chocolate sat on the coffee table, long cold as she tried to understand what had gone wrong, why Candace had turned to the Dark. Was Cheng's promise of a new world order that enticing? What could he possibly have to offer?

She frowned as her mind returned to the visions that Candace had shown her. Will had charged her with figuring out when the Dark was going to make its attack on Will Stanton and anyone who stood with him, but so far all she could get from the visions were nightmares that not even Will holding her would make go away. The more she reviewed the images, the more frightened she became, the more worried about the fate of the world that she had ignored so long.

She had watched videos on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in history during high school. She had seen what a nuclear bomb could do, what more of them could do in the visions from Candace. If Cheng had the kind of influence over people that she was starting to think he did, then how close to the red button had he managed to put himself?

Will hung up the phone with a grim smile and sighed, slipping back into more understandable, americanized speech for her sake. "Bran has actually heard of Cheng, which means the man has his feelers out into the world of politics. What he's promising who, though, I couldn't begin to tell you."

Amy thought back to that night at dinner when Will had told her all about his friends and family from England. "Bran is the one that works for the Prime Minister, right?"

Will nodded, his eyes growing distant with fond memory. "He's the do-everything man there. He serves as bodyguard, advisor, whatever the P.M. needs. He's too valuable for them to put into the spotlight. But if things keep going the way that they're going, I'm sure there will come a time when Bran finds himself in charge again."

"Again?" The word seemed out of place, almost an afterthought coming from Will.

Will laughed. "It was one of my very first adventures with the Dark, when I was still a boy. Bran Davies is special, so much more than the world can or will ever know. He doesn't remember any of it, but I'm afraid that if Cheng has more power than I feared, that Bran and a few others might remember what happened when we were children." He sat down on the couch, motioning for her to quit her pacing and join him. She did so, frowning.

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Probably not. Merriman just wanted to let them have normal lives when he took their memories. If it gets to that point, then normal lives are over anyway." He shook his head. "But we're going to try to keep that from happening."

"I can't make any progress on the visions. All I get is a sense of death and dying and ending. It's not happy."

"I know. I'm sorry to ask it of you." He took her hand, rubbing his thumb absent-mindedly over her knuckles.

"Don't be. I'm sure I'll find something. I only hope I can make sense of the timing before we all die." She didn't mean to sound so negative, but she was scared. It was finally starting to hit her that her life was really in danger, and that Will's life had always been in danger, and that a lot of innocent people were going to die if she didn't figure something out soon. It was a heavy responsibility, one that she wasn't sure she could carry by herself.

Will leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "We'll be fine. Nobody is going to die. I won't let it happen."

She wished even as she cuddled up next to him that she could bring herself to trust him on that one.

Candace smiled to herself as she set out her Halloween costume for the upcoming school dance. She was going all out this year as a black cat. Amy had planned on being a white cat, but for some reason Candace didn't think that that was still going to happen. A grimace crossed her face as she thought about Amy. Why was her friend so stubborn? Candace had seen straight through Stanton's game, so why had Amy been pulled in?

Dr. Cheng had said that Will Stanton was just playing at protecting the world, and that the true power lay with him and his masters. She believed that. But the part about Stanton pretending to be powerful? _That's not true,_ her mind told her. _Stanton's power is real and dangerous. And that necklace that he gave Amy is bad, too._

Candace wondered why she couldn't manage to get the necklace away from Amy. It burned to be around, especially when Amy somehow made it glow, but she knew that Dr. Cheng wanted it very badly. She was beginning to think that perhaps Stanton had stolen it from him. There seemed to be a lot of history between the two of them, and Candace wondered if it was coincidence at all that put them both at the college at the same time. Fate may have been a more accurate term, or Stanton had even tracked the historian here.

She scowled at the girl in her mirror, not liking such thoughts. She chanted softly, and the little flame sprang to life in her palm again. If she could do this, why was she so afraid of what Stanton might be able to do? And why did Amy's necklace cause her such pain? Amy was powerless without it; Candace knew that. Dr. Cheng had told her so.

She smiled at the thought of the historian. He was a kind master, always explaining things and making sure that she could use her new powers effectively. He had to answer to his masters for her failures, but the fact that he did so only made her respect him more. And he only wanted to see Amy safely away from Stanton's clutches. The two punks that had been guarding her at the house had paid dearly for their intentions and their failure to trap Stanton when he came to "rescue" her.

Candace nodded to the mirror. It looked like what Dr. Cheng was saying was true. She hadn't liked it from the beginning, but it was making more and more sense. Will Stanton stood in the way of the peace that they would bring with the powers given them, and so he must be eliminated. She would do her best to save Amy, but if her best friend insisted on standing by Stanton, then she would simply be caught in the crossfire. There would be a lot of people caught in the crossfire if Stanton were not destroyed.

The images of destruction that Dr. Cheng had shown her were at first very disturbing, but as she learned more about her powers and the world around her, and the way that everyone was hurting each other, she was coming to realize that the best way to fix everything would simply be to create a clean slate. No more greedy governments, no more war, no more famine, no more suffering. And those who brought it to pass would be hailed as heroes and rulers.

Candace felt privileged to be one of those people. Why Dr. Cheng had thought her worthy of the honor was beyond her. Maybe he could see the potential inside that she had always believed was there if she could just find the right source of power. She and Amy had been looking for a long time, but now she had found the power and Amy was stuck with Stanton.

She grimaced again, and then forced her features into a pretty smile. Dr. Cheng liked it when she smiled. Amy had always had everything that Candace wanted. She had a good scholarship; Candace had had to work hard all summer for the money to come this semester. Amy always got the guys' attention; Candace had had to settle for the guys that Amy shunned. Amy seemed to have all the answers; Candace often felt dumb compared to her best friend. For once, she had something that she could call her own, something that Amy didn't share. She had true power, power that really affected the physical world around her. Amy just had that stupid jade necklace and luck that Stanton kept showing up when he did.

She couldn't keep the grimace from returning this time. Stanton was a problem. As far as she could tell, he was starting to care about Amy more than he had wanted to. That would make him easy to catch. All she had to do was get Amy to be trapped where they wanted Stanton. She turned back to the skintight cat costume laid across her bed. And _that_ would be easier than anyone might think.

**Reader Responses**

Chyneua- Thanks for the compliments! ::blush:: I try my hardest to keep things balanced. I never did like authors like Hawthorne because there just wasn't enough dialogue.... lol And yes, I did say Halloween costume....

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- Yay for the conservatives! (Luv ya Eldrice!) ::evil grin:: Don't worry, it'll be a fun costume....


	17. The Restaurant and the RavenGirl

A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! Here's my gift to y'all- an update! Things have been going slowly on the writing front- a new baby takes all of your time and energy. Kyle is a most adorable, healthy little boy, born on the 27th of November. And now that he's starting to get into a schedule, I might be able to get more updates up (but I'm not going to promise anything!). That's assuming that I don't have to reformat my hard drive _again_. Anyway, reader responses at the end as usual. Enjoy!

**Chapter 17**

Amy looked across the table at Will, playing with a straw wrapper as they waited for the drunks to start filtering into the brightly-lit Village Inn. It was nearly two o'clock in the morning, and Amy was ready to be asleep. She had tried to nap with Will while he slept this afternoon, but the nightmares had already started and she had not been able to rest. She had spent most of that time pacing around the living room, helping herself to Will's very eclectic library. She knew that tonight was going to be just as difficult, no matter where she ended up sleeping.

She shook her head. "I just wish I had some way of telling when they intend for it all to start." The images were becoming clearer as they became more familiar, and she knew exactly what happened next when it replayed in her head. But there were blurry spots, pieces that she hadn't yet managed to see clearly. She suspected that some of those blurry spots were her clues to their timing.

"Is there no sense of season, or shades of lighting that would suggest winter or summer?"

She shook her head. "The closest I can get there is fall. And I don't know if that's when they intend to initiate some evil plot, or if that's because fall is a season of dying things."

"Or perhaps they will start something in the fall because it's a season of dying things. That would be predictable, and just like the Dark."

"That's possible. I don't know. There aren't enough trees in the visions for me to see leaf colors. There was one school bus." She shuddered, not wanting to face that image especially. "But I couldn't tell what part of the school year it was."

He nodded, his expression grim. She knew that he would be as patient as ever with her, no matter what, but that he was hoping that she would be able to figure something out. Maybe he was wishing that he had been the recipient of the nightmare, so that he could analyze it. He had probably had far more practice with these things and would be quicker figuring out what he needed to know. Instead, he had to rely on her ineptitude.

She craned her neck past him, looking out the window as a car full of people, some of them not quite steady on their feet, pulled into the parking lot. None of them looked happy. A couple of them looked downright homicidal. One of them had a hat from the mineral company whose plant had just been destroyed. "That looks like trouble," she told Will.

Her fears were confirmed when a group of college students pulled into the spot next to the workers, and proceeded to start exchanging angry words. Amy couldn't hear what was going on, but Will was on his feet and out the door before she even realized where he was going. She looked at the plate of pie in front of her, and out the window, and decided that she had better stay put. The waitress probably wouldn't think too kindly of them if she thought they were dining and ditching.

She watched as Will calmly strode up to the two groups, which were starting to make threatening gestures at each other. His hands were in his pockets, and he appeared totally harmless. She knew better, from the set of his jaw and the look in his eyes. He was so tired of people hurting each other like this, and that weariness was turning into angry frustration. His round face smiled at the apparent leader of the workers as he spoke placating words. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but it seemed to slowly be working, even through the alcohol. Then one of the drunk students said something, and she watched Will's control of the situation fade to nothing. He whirled on the student, and Amy could sense that there was something more about the younger man, something familiar and dangerous. She cried out to Will, knowing he couldn't hear her, warning him to be careful.

She didn't need to. She saw the blaze of light around Will for a split second, and the next thing she knew, the college student that had provoked the fight was shrinking back like a whipped dog, and Will had his hand stretched out toward the coward. She couldn't tell what Will was saying, but she knew it was not English. She looked around, realizing that everyone except her and Will and the unnamed student had frozen in time. Will's face was hard, etched with lines of responsibility, and with no trace of the kind middle-aged professor most people knew. This was the Old One, the one that was not going to tolerate any more fighting provoked by the Dark.

The college student appeared to hiss at Will, and then he turned on his heels and ran back to his own car. Time resumed, and Amy watched the puzzled workers try to push their way past a very determined Englishman to get at college students that really didn't seem to have any more interest in fighting, now that their ringleader had suddenly disappeared. Will pushed the workers back despite their much larger builds, and spoke to them in what Amy knew would be a quiet voice. They nodded at him, and then turned and came into the restaurant. Will turned to the college students, and she could imagine the gentle rebuke he was giving them for picking a fight that probably would have ended in their injuries, not the workers'. They turned and got back into their car, driving away.

Will came back into the restaurant, and slid into the booth across from Amy. "What… what did he try to do?" she asked, referring to the ringleader of the students.

"He thought that his new powers would be enough to take care of a silly old man that stood in the way of his fun. I don't think he knew that it was Will Stanton that he was dealing with."

She laughed nervously at his ready grin, glad to see it returning. "So everything is okay, then?"

He shook his head. "No, things aren't okay. Apparently, Cheng and his followers are inciting fights like the one I just stopped all over the place. Nobody likes their high-and-mighty attitudes, and I can guarantee you that whoever sabotaged the plant was one of Cheng's followers getting revenge for something far pettier than a barroom fight."

"How do you know all this?"

"That boy didn't have quite the control over his mind that his masters would. It was easy to get into his thoughts."

Amy nodded, taking another bite of her pie. "So what can we do to stop this?"

He shook his head, and she sensed uncertainty from him. "I don't know. The only thing I can think of is drawing Cheng out into direct confrontation. He doesn't like it, and forcing his hand would be the only way to make sure we don't get lured into a trap."

She yawned, trying to nod her agreement, and he laughed gently. "Let's get you to bed. You've been up long enough and we've gotten the information that we need." He held out his hand to her, and she took it to stand.

When she touched his hand, though, something different happened. Maybe it was because his Old One's gifts were still so close to the surface, or maybe it was because Amy was exhausted and her sensory barriers were down. Whatever it was, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the flash of one intense image, and she fell back onto the seat of the booth, staring at Will.

"What is it?" he asked, worried.

She shook her head, trying to clear the image from in front of her eyes. For a second she had seen Will as a young boy, about twelve or thirteen, standing against a backdrop of flames and rock. Black birds flew from the rocks, fleeing the fire. Somehow she knew that this must be an image from his past. The scene shifted, and she saw the Will she knew now standing where his boy-self had been, his skin melting away to reveal a grinning skeleton, reaching out bony hands for her.

"Will?" she asked, shaken.

"What is it?" he repeated.

"What would flames and big rocks and birds and you as a boy have to do with each other?"

He tilted his head to one side, perplexed. "That was when I was in Wales for the first time. How…?" He looked away, a realization slowly dawning in his eyes. "All Hallow's Eve. Halloween. Can it really be that simple?"

"Can what really be that simple?"

"When they plan to strike. It might be as soon as tomorrow."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "That doesn't give us much time."

"No, it doesn't."

Amy yawned, in spite of the adrenaline rush from the new vision. She might be able to sleep tonight, nightmares or not. She took Will's offered hand without incident this time, and pulled herself to her feet. "Let's get going, then."

Amy found herself in the burning desert again, and groaned. The last thing she wanted right now was another nightmare. She willed herself to wake up from the sleeping vision, but nothing happened. She was stuck here until whatever powers-that-be had shown her what she was supposed to see.

She walked through the desert, the flames on either side of her parting to let her through. She knew that she was in the vision that Candace had shown her, and that somehow she was at the beginning of the disaster. There had to be some sort of clue to the timing of all of this. Was Will right? Was it doomed to begin on Halloween?

She walked right into the ruins of what had once been a large city, untouched by the intense heat set off by a nuclear furnace. Around her, twisted metal and crumbled concrete buildings burned, burned in a way that Amy had never thought possible. Metal just didn't catch fire like that. She searched through the decimated ruins, finding nothing but slag and rubble. If there had been life here, it had all ceased to exist under the black sky of a monstrous mushroom cloud.

A flash of white in all of the sickly glowing red and orange caught the corner of her eye. It was movement, the kind of movement that suggested a living thing. She whipped her head around, searching for the source, but saw nothing. Was she imagining things?

The sound of a child's laughter reached her ears, and she frowned. That was not a sound that she should be hearing here. There was the flash of white again, and she whirled to the left to spot a young girl disappearing around the corner of a destroyed building. Something told Amy that maybe she had better follow the ghostly figure.

She started jogging, determined not to lose the child, and rounded the corner. She found herself in an open city plaza, the fountain in the center of the square surprisingly intact. Weirder still, it was running as though there were no destruction, no decay, no change around it, shooting streams of clear water up into the air. The water caught the glow from the city and the skies, glittering a bloody red before it fell back into its pool. On the edge of the fountain sat the girl that Amy had seen. She was about eight or nine, and could have been any race's child. She wore a white sundress, which seemed a little tattered, and she was playing with a black feather- a raven's feather, Amy realized. She wore a set of wings, the feathered kind that one could get in a costume store. They were as tattered as her dress, and streaked with blood and ashes. She seemed very birdlike, as though she could fly away again at the slightest provocation. Amy approached slowly, trying not to scare her off.

"The Dark is rising again," she said, dipping her feather in the water like a toy. Where it touched, visions swirled and faded in the current, magic made useless by moving water.

"I know. I need to stop them," Amy told her gently.

"How do you think that you will stop them, Dream-seeker? You have not the powers of an Old One."

"I know. I need to stop them from killing Will so that he can stop them from doing this." She waved her arm out at the chaos and destruction around their little oasis. "I need to know when they intend to destroy him."

"Who said anything about the Dark destroying Will Stanton?" The little girl laughed, and as childlike as it was, it struck Amy as very eerie. "Will Stanton is already on the path to destroying himself. You've seen it, Dream-seeker. You've seen the way that he can change when he is trying to protect the ones that he loves."

Amy couldn't say anything to that. She could see how protective he was of his family and friends, and her now added to the list. The powers of an Old One turned to blind rage would be a terrible thing, and she knew it. "Then what can I do to stop this from happening? Cheng can't be allowed to destroy everything like this!"

"If you really want to stop it, Dream-seeker, you must teach Will Stanton to be an Old One again. He has allowed his emotions to get in the way of his objectives."

"He's human as much as he is an Old One. Don't any of you understand that? No matter what burden they gave him when they left, he is still human. Maybe four hundred years from now he'll be something completely different. Right now his family and friends still live. Can't you people just let him be for a few years?"

The little girl looked up at her, eyes anything but childlike. "And if we leave him be, Amy, then what happens to our world? You may have him for a while, but what happens when he no longer remembers who he is and what he believes in? He won't be able to love anyone then, not even you."

Amy stared at her, wondering just how true her words were. "Are you saying that it's my fault that all of this happens?"

"I am saying that you should be careful what you choose. If you keep encouraging Will Stanton to deny what he is, then the Dark has won. You have to remind him of what his responsibilities are."

"What do you want me to do? Leave him alone completely? Walk away from something that I want to see work for the rest of my life? Walk away from someone who needs me?"

"We want Will Stanton to remember that his birthright gives him obligations that outweigh everything else- even love."

Amy didn't know what to say to that one. The little girl was right. If Amy kept encouraging Will to listen to his heart instead of his head, then she was just as guilty as Cheng of destroying him. "What day?" she asked instead. "I need to know what day this all happens."

"The last day of the old year. You already knew that." The girl laughed at her, and then stood, looking at her. A few worn white feathers fell from her wings into the fountain's pool. Where they landed, images swirled and then disappeared, and then the feathers turned black as a raven's as they floated on the water. "You will have to choose, Dream-seeker. Will Stanton must be free to work."

"There has to be another way. There has to be some way I can still be with him and he can still do his job." Amy was suddenly aware of a choking sensation and a blurring in her eyes. "I just found him. I can't give him up now."

"Can you give up the world that you live in, then, the world that you love?" The girl's feathers were all turning black now, as well as her dress. "You must choose, Dream-seeker." Then she was gone in a flash of light and a large raven perched on the edge of the fountain where the girl had been. It dropped a shiny object into the water, made a sound at her, and then flew off into the heat-distorted red sky.

Amy looked into the fountain, and fished out the carved circle quartered by a cross. This one was clear quartz, rounded and polished as though it had been through a rock tumbler. When Amy touched it, it started to glow, the same warm shade that the jade Sign that she wore glowed. She held onto it for a moment, battling with herself, and then tossed it back into the fountain. The last thing that she wanted now was to let Will Stanton go. She had promised him last night that she would never leave him to be alone again, and now that was what she was being asked to do.

She rubbed a sleeve at the angry tears that were forcing their way past what she had thought was her outstanding emotional control. It just wasn't fair! She needed Will, and she knew that he was starting to need her just as much. Who were they to tell her that she wasn't allowed to be in love just because he had a duty to do?

She splashed angrily at the water, sending drops glittering into the air where they shone red, and then fell back into the pool. She wasn't sure at this point what on her face was splashed water and what were tears. She didn't care. She closed her eyes and hugged herself, willing herself to wake up from this dream. She didn't want to be here anymore.

She opened her eyes to near darkness, hearing the heater kick on and watching shadows fall past the streetlight outside. It was snowing again, but it was a soft and gentle snow. Will was snoring softly next to her, his face a slight frown, turning over uncomfortably. She wondered what he dreamed about. Did he see the imminent destruction of their world too, or were his dreams worse than what she saw? Did he spend his nights in memories, or did he see the future under the Dark?

She snuggled up next to him, wiping away the rest of her tears. He stirred in his sleep, putting his arms around her and pulling her close to him. She could feel his breathing even out, feel him relaxing and sensing that his bad dreams were leaving him. She sighed. He needed someone to love, and to love him. Unfortunately, she had to admit that the raven-girl was right. She had to choose, and she had to do it soon.

She laughed quietly at herself, a bitter whisper. She knew already what she would choose, the only thing that she could choose. She didn't like either of the options, but she knew her place. She sniffed as the tears returned full-force this time, and decided to just give herself over to sobs.

After a moment, Will stirred. "Amy?" he asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied as she burrowed deeper into his arms. "Just a bad dream."

**Reader Responses**

Pullmanlover- I'm glad you liked the section from Candace's POV. And to be honest, I'm not really all that political- just once every four years the Wyoming native in me takes control. (Even Democrats in Wyoming are pretty conservative…)

Eldrice- I understand all of the computer issues… I just had to reformat and reinstall everything. Yay for backup! As for Candace and Amy, I definitely have plans there. And as for Bran and the politics- there are plans there too. Maybe a sequel….

Chyneua- I don't think Candace is completely evil, either. Stupid and blind, perhaps. But not evil.


	18. The Biggest Dance of the Year

A/N: The end is near! I've nearly finished writing this story! There are several chapters to be posted still, though, so don't despair! I'm glad that you guys like my dream sequences- I like writing them. Anyway. There are some answers about Will's past here (at least according to my universe! ) so read and enjoy! And of course, reader responses at the end!

**Chapter 18**

Amy frowned as she stepped out of the mall into a very gray, very cold parking lot. She held her purchase tightly, wrapped in its plastic bag, as the wind plucked at it. She had decided that she was going to go to the dance anyway, and nothing could stand in her way. Really, given that everything was centered around what Cheng was doing with his college students, she didn't think that it was a bad idea at all. A dance would be an ideal place to start something. Will had said that he would meet her there, just in case her predictions were accurate. Now she was worried that her costume wasn't going to be warm enough.

She drove back to her dorm with the radio turned way up, trying not to think about the decision she had made. She had thought about telling Will this morning, but she just hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. He had been so relaxed this morning, despite the impending doom of the evening. She had told him about having a dream that confirmed their guess on the timing. She hadn't told him about any of the rest of it, and she had worked very hard to keep it out of the untamed thoughts that Will picked up on so easily.

She wondered why she was so afraid of telling Will about the dream and the choice that she was being forced to make. Was she afraid that he wouldn't understand? Or was she more afraid that he would react exactly how she really wanted him to react?

She pulled into the parking lot and sat there with the car turned off, staring up at her building. The college was quiet and somewhat deserted. Everyone was hiding indoors, out of the cold gray gloom and bitter Wyoming wind. She should be doing the same, hiding from what she knew was coming tonight. She could feel the danger in the air and the fear of failure. What were they really supposed to do to stop the Dark? Just because they knew when didn't mean that they knew how the enemy was going to attack.

She sighed, and got out of the car, carrying her bags up to her apartment. Her roommate was there, studying, when Amy opened the door. "Candace was looking for you," she told Amy, then went back to reading.

"Thanks," Amy replied absent-mindedly, hurrying to the bedroom. She knew that Candace would be at the dance, and she knew that she was going to have to face her friend again sometime. She just didn't know what to think anymore. Candace was deluded and dangerous now. Amy felt sorry for her, but she was also angry. How could the other girl possibly think that anything good could come out of the kind of large-scale destruction the Dark was planning? How could she possibly think that what she was about to do could be right?

She opened her closet, and dug out the dress. She hadn't worn it since her senior prom, but she had tried it on earlier today and it still fit. She was glad that she had it, because she just didn't want to wear the matching costume to Candace's black cat anymore. When they had planned that, things had been far simpler. There had been no Will Stanton, no Dr. Cheng, no Dark and no Sign.

She sighed, shaking her head. A part of her wanted to go back to that, and a part of her never wanted things to be that way again. She wanted to live in her own naïve little world still, but there was so much that she had learned in just the past two weeks. She wanted her best friend back, but she didn't want to give up Will. Which brought her right back to thinking about the dream and why she couldn't tell Will all about it.

The phone rang, and she jumped, startled out of her thoughts. She sighed again, and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Amy?" It was Candace.

"Oh, hi," Amy answered less than enthusiastically.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened down in the practice rooms the other night. I wasn't exactly feeling like myself. I still want us to be friends, Amy. Are you still coming to the dance tonight?"

Amy wondered at the apology. She wasn't sure that she could trust it. Candace had seemed willing enough to destroy her then, so what had changed now? "Yeah, I'm coming," she replied. Was the Dark setting up a trap for her?

"Good. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be social."

"It's the biggest dance of the year. Do you really think that I would miss it?"

"I can't be sure anymore. Is Stanton coming with you?" Candace's tone was icy, and Amy frowned.

"Is that really any of your business?"

"Amy, he's dangerous. Why don't you see that? He's just going to drag you down with him into trouble. I know it's exciting to have a fling with an older man, but this has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever known you to do. I'm worried about you."

Amy took the phone away from her ear and stared at it. She wouldn't have been so flabbergasted if Candace didn't sound genuinely concerned. "I'm fine, Candace," she reassured her friend after a moment. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." That wasn't entirely true where the Dark was concerned, but that was why she had Will to take care of what she couldn't.

"Just be careful."

"I will. Anyway. I need to go so I can get some dinner. I'll see you at the dance, okay?" Amy tried to make her voice sound cheerful, but she was worried.

"Okay. See you there." Candace hung up, and Amy frowned at the phone before setting the receiver back on its hook. Was Candace trying to lead her into a trap tonight? That was the only reason she could think of for the other girl to apologize like this. _Maybe she's really worried about you, _the voice in her head suggested. _Maybe she really does think that you're in trouble with Will._

"The only trouble I'm in with him is with my heart," she muttered, turning back to her dress. She opened the bag from the mall, and allowed herself a small smile. It was going to be perfect.

:::::Will leaned against the wall, trying not to be noticed by the students milling around the Atrium, but watching them all closely. He could sense that many of them were more than they seemed, new servants of the Dark. He frowned. Even with all of them, there were too many people who had no idea here. This was not the place for an open confrontation, no matter how much he just wanted to face Cheng and get this battle over with. He was tired of hunting the Chinaman, tired of feeling the gnawing empty space inside where his desire for revenge was eating through him. He was tired of following the man from one end of the earth to another only to end up having someone he cared about hurt again.

He looked over at the DJ and the dancing college students, envious. He had never really had much of a social life in college. It hadn't been for lack of trying, but even in college his fellow students had been able to sense that he was different from all of them.

Then there had been Heather. For the longest time she had just been another pretty girl in his world literature class. He had always known that she was really nice to him when others didn't seem to want to notice him, but he had never realized that it was because she liked him. Never realized it until she had asked him out to dinner, that is.

He shook his head, not sure if he wanted to remember all of that right now. Amy was like Heather had been in a lot of ways. They were both attractive, intelligent, headstrong young women, unafraid of the things that life threw at them. Heather had stood by him for so long, even when he could never explain why he was late and never really "emotionally available". Eventually, though, even she got tired of waiting for him.

He remembered that night all too well. It had been New Year's Eve, and he had arrived late to a party that she was throwing at her parents' house in London. He remembered that it had been raining hard, and he had come to the door dripping wet. She had answered, beautiful and all dressed up in a long black velvet dress. She took one look at him and sighed. "Oh, Will. Where were you this time?"

"I ran into trouble again," he replied with a shrug. There had been a bad accident just ahead of him on the rain-slick roads, and of course he had pulled over to do what he could. "There was a bad accident."

She shook her head, and he remembered the look on her face so well. It wasn't regret, and it wasn't love. It was a sad blankness that frightened him, and he knew what she was going to say before the words emerged from her perfect red lips. "Will, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep waiting for you to finish saving the whole bloody world. I don't want to do this to you, but I need you to make your choice. It's me or the world, Will. Do you really love me, or are you too interested in protecting everyone else?"

He should have tried to talk it out with her, maybe should have tried to tell her about the Dark and the Old Ones and his destiny. But he remembered being so tired and feeling so old as he stood there wet on the doorstep. The Old One went unappreciated by everyone else, and he hated seeing her unhappy because of him. "If that's how you feel, then I shall take my leave of you." She had always thought it was romantic when he talked in old-fashioned ways. "I hope you find happiness and someone that can be there for you more than I ever will."

He had then turned and walked back into the rain. If she had called after him, he had never heard over the sound of the rain and the passing tires on wet pavement. He could have hailed a cab, but he had preferred to walk in the storm. It suited his mood.

He sighed, willing the memory away. He had come down with bronchitis after that, mostly because he hadn't cared if he got sick or not. The dark months that had followed had seen him in the middle of an identity crisis. He had wondered everything, from whether Merriman should have trusted him with the world to thinking that perhaps he was gay and that was why women just couldn't stand him to realizing that he was stuck with a burden he had never asked for and that it was just in his nature to want to save the world. Eventually he settled with the fact that he definitely liked women but because he was the last of the Old Ones he just wasn't meant to be in love at all. It was his responsibility to protect the world, and love would only stand in the way of vigilance.

And now there was Amy. He had sworn that he would never get involved with anyone again, but here he was in love with the Dream-seeker, of all people. He doubted that she knew how important she really was, and he wasn't going to tell her. She had to find that out on her own, whether now or years from now it didn't matter. What was important at the moment was that she mattered more than the world to him and he was getting tired of having to put other things before his own emotions.

Something told him to turn around, and he did. A girl in a flowing white dress was coming down the stairs, some trick of the light catching the red highlights in her dark blond hair and sparkling off of the tiara that she wore. Her white-feathered wings shone like the wings of a real angel. She saw him staring at her, and blushed, that beautiful shy smile that he had only seen once before coming to her face.

He hurried to meet her, offering her his hand for the rest of the stairs. She took it gratefully, wobbling just a little in her high heels on the last step. He tipped his hat at her, grinning. "Howdy, ma'am," he drawled.

Amy laughed as she looked over his costume, a light sound that was music to his ears. "Sheriff Stanton," she greeted him. "It does look good."

He pretended to polish his badge with his sleeve, then twirled his bright orange plastic six-shooter. "You think so? Think I'll be able to go string up the badguys now?"

She laughed again, taking his arm. "If they show up tonight." The smile faded from her lips as she scanned the room. He knew that she must be looking for Candace.

"I haven't seen her yet," he told Amy, leading her over to where he had been standing. From there he could see everything on the dance floor.

She looked out at the other students dancing, and sighed. "I guess we have too much work to do to actually have any fun."

"Not true," he replied. "As long as we keep our eyes open, we can have as much fun as we want."

She leaned back against the wall, arms folded as she watched the dance go on without her. She seemed content to be here watching instead of out on the floor. He leaned against the wall next to her, reaching down and taking her hand. He could feel something in the air, like the electricity in the air before a lightning storm. He didn't want to face this one alone.

She turned her head to smile at him. "We'll be okay," she told him. "We can stop him." There was something dark behind her eyes, though, and he wondered what she had dreamed last night. She had refused to tell him why she had woken up crying, and she was hiding those thoughts from him. He wasn't going to try to pry into her mind, either. All he did know was that it had something to do with him.

"I'm not going to let anybody die," he reassured her. "Not you, not any of these students, and certainly not myself."

She seemed about ready to say something, but her gaze slid past him and she pointed. 'There's Candace, and she's not alone."

He turned to see a girl in a black skintight cat costume coming down the stairs, shadowed by the young follower of the Dark from the Village Inn last night. She had an escort, really. Will wondered at that. Had she really managed to rise so high in the local ranks? Or was she just Cheng's favorite apprentice?

The tension in the air began to hum in his veins, and he realized that confrontation of some sort was unavoidable. "And so it begins," he muttered. "So it begins."

**Reader Responses**

Pullmanlover- I was excited to get that idea because I knew that I needed someone to guide Amy through that dream and I knew Merriman or the Lady just wouldn't work. Then she came to me, and I think she was perfect.

Eldrice- never have heard of "The Wood Wife". Yet another one that I'm going to have to look up. And I think that you may very well be right about the loving bonds thing- although I'm not going to give anything away!

Chyneua- Kyle is so cute now! Thanks! I've always had something about dream sequences. I don't think I can write anything of serious length without at least one of them. And I will definitely try to keep up the good work!

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- I will be sure to drop you a line if I need anything. Thanks! The holiday is called Samhein- it's the holiday where some pagans celebrate(?) the passing of The God to be reborn again at Yule. It happens to fall on/about Halloween every year. (I like researching pagan traditions.)And I really think that if we forget ourselves, then it becomes impossible to truly love ourselves, much less anyone else. That could explain a lot of what I'm dealing with....


	19. Farewell to Sheriff Stanton

A/N: I would apologize for the horrible series of cliffhangers I'm about to leave y'all with, but where's the fun in that? This chapter is kind of slow (and short)compared to the next few, but I promise it's worth it!

**Chapter 19**

Amy watched as Candace moved around the dance floor, wondering when her supposed best friend was going to come over and talk to her. She was also starting to wonder if they were going to play any slow songs. She wanted one decent dance with Will before she had to tell him what she had decided.

She had had other dreams last night, after the dream of the raven girl. Merriman and the Lady had both appeared to talk to her, both telling her what she already knew. The Light needed her, but they could not allow her to get in Will's way. If she did get in Will's way, then perhaps the Light would have to weigh how much they needed her against how much they needed the Watchman. They had never said it in that many words, but she had gotten the idea.

She wiped at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand, wondering why it made her so angry. It was her own fault for falling in love with him. She had been warned against it from the start. She had been told to help him, not to be what he wanted.

Will returned from the snack table, and raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, not wanting to tell him. She knew that she would have to, but she couldn't do it. Then the opening chords of one of her favorite songs sounded, and she took his hand. It would be a slow dance. "Come dance with me and I'll tell you," she told him.

He followed her out onto the floor, and drew her close as they started swaying to the music. "What's going on?" he demanded gently.

"Will, there's something I need to tell you. You have to promise to not get upset. You have to promise that you'll consider what I have to say and realize that it's for the best." She wasn't bothering to try and hide the furious lonely tears anymore.

"I promise," he replied. The look on his face said that he already knew what was coming, but not why.

"Will, I can't be with you anymore. They all say I'm distracting you, that I'm going to be the reason that you fall."

"Who's 'they'?" he asked, brushing away some of her tears.

"Merriman and the Lady and the girl in my other dreams. And the problem is, I know that they're right. You came after me the other day when you knew it was probably a trap. You put yourself in danger to take care of me. You can't do that, Will. Too many people depend on you."

"I know my job," he replied, and she could hear the bitterness rising in his voice. "And I know that I can't let things get in the way."

"So why are we both here tonight?" She knew that he knew, but that wasn't the point. Just because they both knew what his duty was, his destiny, didn't mean that they liked it at all or weren't going to fight it.

"I'm here because this is where it's all going to start."

"Did you stop to think that maybe it starts here because something happens to me and you can't control yourself? I've seen how you get when someone you care about gets hurt. When that happens, you're not an Old One anymore; you're as human as the rest of us. And I think that's what they're most afraid of, and what the Dark is counting on."

She stared up at his face, watching him battle with himself. At last, he spoke. "You're probably right. That doesn't mean that I like it." He looked at her, holding her gaze. "You said that you weren't going to leave me to be alone again."

"Will, you must believe that it's the last thing that I want to do."

A bitter half-smile raised one corner of his mouth. "I believe you." He sighed, looking around the dance floor. "I want to be mad, but I can't be. Not at you." He pulled her to him, holding her close as the song ended.

She wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him tightly. She could feel his strength and his vulnerability all at once, and the warmth of his body. She just wanted this moment to last, just wanted all the angst and call of duty to disappear. She just wanted them both to be normal for a while.

The song ended, and they both stood there for a moment, clinging to each other. Finally, he spoke. "You better go talk to Candace. She's waiting for you."

Amy reluctantly let go of him and turned to where Candace was staring at her from the wall. "She's going to want to go somewhere to talk. It will be a trap. Don't come after me."

"Amy," he started, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"Will, you know that they know I'm a weakness for you. Whatever happens, don't let them use me against you." She met his eyes, trying to choke back her tears. "We both have a job to do tonight, and like it or not, we can't let personal feelings get in the way."

He nodded, and she could see that his Old One's sensibilities were returning. "If they hurt you, though…" he started.

"Don't come after me, no matter what," she repeated. She would like nothing more than to be rescued by him if she was kidnapped, but she couldn't let him be led into a trap. Too much depended on his survival.

He nodded, then kissed her on the forehead. "I'll take care of Cheng, and then I'll come for you," he promised her.

"I'll be waiting," she tried to smile. She was scared to death. She knew that once she joined Candace, then she was out of the fight. Everything was up to him now. "Do you know where to find Cheng?"

"He'll come to me. He won't be able to resist attacking as the old year dies- the Dark's power is strong tonight." He looked away, grim determination on his face, and then turned back to her with that grin on his face. "Don't worry about me. He won't be able to defeat me."

Amy watched as Candace started moving toward her impatiently. "I need to go," she told him. She kissed him on the cheek. "Come back to me safely, Will Stanton."

"I will," he promised. He turned to go, but Amy caught him by the hand, trying to delay his leaving. She wasn't sure that she was going to see him again. "What is it?" he asked.

"I love you. Just remember that." She blushed, not used to saying those words to anyone.

He grinned. "I will." He glanced behind her, and she turned around to see what he was looking at. When she turned back, he had disappeared completely. She half-smiled. It was probably better that way. She was taking too long to say goodbye.

Candace reached her. "Hello, Amy. How are you tonight?"

Amy took a deep breath, willing herself to have courage. "Doing pretty good."

"Where did Stanton disappear to?" Candace's voice was not quite disdainful.

"He had things to do," Amy answered honestly. "So what's up?"

"Not much. Do you want to go outside and talk?"

"Sure," Amy told her, trying to sound completely trusting as they headed for the door. This was going to be the longest night of her life.

**Reader Responses**

Sorrowful- You should see what MS Word's grammar checker does with Will's name. If I were to say that Will will do something, it goes nuts on me. And it keeps telling me my verb tenses are all wrong because it thinks that I mean to say that someone will do something.... for example, "Will said" comes up in the correction suggestion box as "will say". I just have to go by what I know. I can't trust the grammar check. Oh well.


	20. Battle!

A/N: I can so see the action happening in this chapter. I usually see what I write happening like it's a movie, and this time I see it in anime. Am I just weird or does it work for everyone else that way? Reader Responses at the end, as usual!

**Chapter 20**

Will stood on White Mountain where Amy had sprained her ankle, watching as the clouds skidded over the moon and stars in the icy breeze that had picked up in the last hour or so. He could see the lights of Rock Springs burning brightly, although the murky dark haze that had covered the city a week ago was only worse now.

Taking off his cowboy hat and plastic guns, he stared up at the full moon, waiting as the wind gusted and played with his dark blue cloak. He supposed that it probably would look quite dramatic if there were anyone around to see. He shook his head, wondering how he should call the Chinaman. There were so many ways to get the self-proclaimed dark lord's attention.

He smiled and then began to speak quietly to the ancient force in the mountain. He felt it stir, a looming, powerful entity older than any of the Old Ones. It seemed to regard him sleepily, and then really awoke. Will could feel the shift in the winds and watched the ragged clouds thicken and cover the moon. "Please help me," he whispered to the mountain in the Old Tongue. As he did, he used the Gift of Gramarye to see and feel all the beautiful things in the earth, from bright crystals and gems to the roots of the oldest mountains and the young passion of all the volcanoes. He could feel the mountain responding, and he knew that he would be safe as long as he fought on this ground. He would not be moved, much like the mountain upon which he stood.

HE COMES. The voice of the mountain resounded in Will's head, deep and filled with all the power of unshakeable earth. MAKE READY, OLD ONE.

Will pulled his cloak tighter against the rising cold wind, watching the haze over the city thicken into a black, oozing mass and start to flow toward the mountain. Concentrating while he still had time, he called on all of his gifts as an Old One, remembering long-dormant words of power and things of magic. Rolling up his sleeve, he fingered the Sign seared into his flesh long years ago. It made him think of the jade Sign, and Amy. He wondered if she was okay.

He pushed that thought away as the blackness drew closer. He needed to focus. Her life and everyone else's depended on it. She would be fine.

He could see a figure in a black cloak riding the crest of the oozing wave, a black cloak embroidered in red with eastern dragons. There was no mistaking the Chinaman, and Will smiled grimly. Cheng was rising to the bait.

The black wave began to climb up the foot of the mountain, towering over Will like it was a child about to squish an insignificant bug. Will didn't even blink as a swirling column broke away from the darkness, depositing Cheng in front of him. The agent of the Dark smiled at Will, a twisted smile of triumph. "Will Stanton, last of the Old Ones. You are a fool to face me openly like this."

"Am I?" Will asked quietly. On the outside, he was calm and collected, but inside he could feel the rush of adrenaline and the quiet fury of one who has waited too long for justice.

"Do you not see the power of the Dark here?" Cheng gestured grandly to the black mass behind him. "You have no chance of defeating me, not in this place. Turn away, Stanton, turn away and let the Dark claim this place. It is lost to you."

"That's where you're wrong," the Old One spoke, clenching his fists at his side. He refused to lose a place with forces like the mountain on which they stood. "As long as there are people like Amy here, you will never have complete control."

Cheng laughed, a dark mirthless sound. "Talk is cheap, Old One. Why don't we just get to business?" And without further warning, he gestured at Will and the wave of the Dark rose threateningly and began to fall.

Will spoke a few quick words in the Old Tongue, and raised his hands against the crashing mass that would destroy him. Light sprang up around him, and the ooze crashed against an invisible shield. Will struggled to maintain that space around himself, fighting against the full gathered strength of Cheng's darkness. As the wave crashed and swirled around him, he could hear the horrible cacophony of shrieks and screeching laughter and despairing screams that was the Dark. He had never quite grown accustomed to the sound, despite all his years in the service of the Light. He could feel dark, cold fingers reaching out for him, screeching as they encountered the barrier of light around him.

Cheng's face twisted as he raised his hand, fingers outstretched at Will, and the swirling mass returned for a second attack. Will leaped from where he was standing to the top of a large boulder, brandishing his bare forearm at the Dark and chanting quickly in the Old Tongue. A shaft of light shot from the Sign on his arm and pierced the darkness. The shrieks grew as the black mass was cut down, hewn into pieces.

Cheng hissed in anger, and drew a sword that Will had not noticed hanging at his side. It was a long, straight blade, made of a black metal that seemed to suck all the light out of the air around it. The wind gusted, and the black cloak flared, making the dragons dance as though they were alive.

Will frowned. He had not expected the weapon. He looked around for something to help him, something to keep him from being cut into pieces. He felt the mountain sending reassurance to him, and he looked down to see a round, flat rock at his feet. Asking for the extra strength from the earth, he lifted the stone and raised it as a shield as the Chinaman's first blow fell.

Sparks flew as Cheng advanced, Will circling with his earthen shield and waiting for the right opportunity. He raised the shield again as Cheng struck, stepping to one side and angling the shield so that Cheng's blade slid off and into the ground. Will could feel the mountain reach up to hold the blade, just for a second, but it was enough. With all his strength, he swung the shield around, catching the Chinaman on the side of the head.

Cheng flew back, dazed, blood flowing from the wound that Will had opened. He shook his head, and his eyes cleared. Will grimaced. The Dark was with the other man, and would not let him die that easily. Cheng picked up his sword and began chanting in the speech of the Dark, pointing the weapon at Will. The darkness began to regroup behind the Chinaman, taking on the form of a great black dragon. Will knew that the dragon would swallow him up, help of the mountain or not.

He began chanting himself, willing the clouds out of the way. He needed light to work with here. The Dark-summoned clouds were slow to move, and Will felt the beginnings of panic as the dark dragon grew to fill the sky, red and purple lightning flashing along its back and forking from the open, grinning mouth. He could not lose here. Too much depended on his survival.

He called on all his gifts, and commanded the clouds to move. He felt the starlight and moonlight on the other side joining with him, coming to the aid of the last Old One. A shaft of moonlight finally broke through the clouds, shining down on him, and he spoke to it, willing it to meet the challenge of the Dark. A creature began to take shape behind him, although he could not see its form.

Cheng bared his teeth at Will, a feral growl rising from his throat, and he brandished his sword, commanding the dragon forward. Hissing, it leapt at its master's bidding. Will watched as it descended on him, jagged teeth in a mouth gaping and ready to swallow and destroy him. With an almost panicked cry, he called to the creature behind him to defend him.

An eagle's screech cut through the air as the winged creature rose to meet the dragon of the Dark, slashing its talons along the dragon's sinuous body. The dragon turned from Will to face its new foe, and the dragon and gryphon rose high into the sky. Red and purple and gold and blue lightning flashed over the mountain as the titans clashed. Will and Cheng watched, having put so much of their will and power into the creatures, each urging his beast on toward victory.

Will gasped as the dragon grabbed the jugular of the gryphon, feeling the wound in his own neck. He could feel the strength begin to drain out of him, and he desperately willed his gryphon to fight back, to do something as the dragon began to suck all the lifeblood out of it.

The bluish white creature gave a defiant shriek and dug its talons deep into the underbelly of its assailant. The dragon gave a mighty cry, releasing Will's creature. The half-eagle fell plummeting toward the ground, and Will released it. It dissipated, becoming nothing more than moonlight once again.

Will watched, anxiously waiting to see if the gryphon's gift had been deadly. The dragon thrashed and writhed in the night sky, sending red lightning all through the clouds. Will could feel it dying, and he seized the opportunity. Picking up a good-sized rock, he whispered words to the earth. The shape of it began to change, until he was holding a stone katana. He charged at Cheng as the dragon gave one last shrieking roar and multi-colored lightning exploded from the dying mass of the Dark. The Chinaman managed to block the first blow, but Will twirled around him, following through with a second long and powerful slash.

Cheng dropped to his knees, holding the injury in his gut and looking down at his red hands in disbelief. Will towered over him, sword poised for the killing blow. It would all end here. Justice would be done and catastrophe prevented.

Cheng began to laugh, a dark sound that echoed through the night, and Will hesitated. Why was he laughing? Surely he could not think that the Dark would triumph now. "What?" he demanded.

"You may kill me now, but it's too late for your girlfriend. By now events have been triggered that not even you could stop, and only I know where she and her power-hungry friend are. They will both die, and you will have to live with the knowledge that it was your fault." Cheng coughed, and the Old One could sense that he was dying.

Will leaned over and grabbed him by the collar. "Where are they?" He was fighting the growing terror that seemed to say that Cheng was right, and that not only was Amy going to give her life, but Candace as well. He remembered all too well how easily the lords of the Dark betrayed those who gave everything to follow them. In a brief flash he saw again the crumpled velvet coat lying in a broken heap in the snow, Merriman's beloved former liege man betrayed by those he would have served. "I'm not going to let them die like others have."

Understanding dawned in the Chinaman's eyes, and he laughed again. "You think that I will tell you for the price of my death? You are a fool, Will Stanton. Let me go and I will tell you where their bodies are. You are already too late to save them."

Will brought the sword back, the point at Cheng's throat. "Tell me," he growled. He could not let Cheng go. He needed to do the right thing and kill the man now, and save a lot of people from his evil workings. If he gave his word to let the Chinaman go, he would have to abide by his word as an Old One. He had to kill him, and yet he could not let Amy and Candace die.

He wondered where the boy had gone, the boy that had been willing to sacrifice his sister to hold on to the Great Signs of the Light so long ago. The Rider had been a far more frightening opponent, and yet Will had stood strong against him. What had changed since then?

He released the shorter man, shoving him backwards onto the ground. "Where are they?" he demanded once again.

"Will you let me go?"

Will took a deep breath. Merriman was not going to be happy with him. "You have my word as an Old One that you may leave this place freely, never to return again."

The Chinaman glowered, knowing that Will would cut him down like last year's tall weeds if he did not uphold his end of the bargain. "They're in a warehouse on the edge of town." As he spoke, Will got the picture of the right building from his enemy's mind. "But you are too late, Old One."

Will spat on the ground at Cheng's feet, not sure whether he was more disgusted with his opponent or himself. "Get out of here, before I change my mind."

The man in the black cloak, which only looked silly now, scrambled to his feet and down the side of the mountain. A swirling column of dark mist descended from the sky, taking him away. Will watched him go, and then looked out over the city, looking for the right edge of town. He had stood there almost ten minutes, trying to figure it out, when a fireball erupted from an industrial district on the western edge of Rock Springs. "Amy," he whispered, horrified, and began to run.

**Reader Responses**

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- I've got big plans for Will and Amy when this is all over- but it's not what would perhaps be expected for them.


	21. Betrayal

A/N: Nothing much to say; reader responses follow.

**Chapter 21**

Amy grimaced as she and Candace pulled up outside of a warehouse on the west side of town. "Is this my prison for the night?" she asked her friend, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

"We've been told to keep you here, away from Stanton. The master is going to destroy him tonight. He let me take you out of the way because you are still innocent in this fight, Amy. You have no idea the kind of peace that Stanton stands in the way of."

"It's rule by fear. Everyone will be too afraid of what the Dark will do to them."

"The Dark," Candace scoffed. "Is that what your Englishman calls it? It is the Power, Amy, the only power with enough force to let us all start over again. Why won't you join us? Have you been so brainwashed by _him _that you won't see the winning side right in front of your face? Do you like losing, Amy? Is that what it is?"

Amy snorted at her, not wanting to dignify the question with any sort of answer. She turned to look at the mountain, sensing a storm brewing. Clouds began to cover the moon, and a chill wind blew out of the west. She shivered, wondering where Will was, and if he was all right.

"Come on," Candace told her, gently but firmly guiding her into the building. "You can watch the storm from the office window if you want."

Amy followed Candace up a set of narrow metal stairs to a group of empty offices, and into the nearest one. There were people all over the place, most of them carrying rifles. They all nodded to Candace as she passed, but there was a strange look in their eyes. Amy was starting to wonder how safe she was here, despite her friend's "protection". Candace went to the window, looking out at the mountain, and then motioned for Amy to join her quickly.

Amy stared as she joined the other girl, wondering at the red and gold lightning over the mountain. There were hints of blue and purple in there, too. She looked higher, and saw with amazement that there were two fantastic creatures battling above the city. "Do you see them, too?" she asked Candace. Her friend nodded, staring in wonder.

Amy watched as the black dragon and bluish-white gryphon tore at each other, a deadly dance of talons, teeth, and beak. She had no doubt which beast belonged to whom. The dragon undoubtedly belonged to Cheng.

She cried out as the dragon bit into the neck of Will's gryphon, and felt the Sign start to glow at her throat. Candace glanced over at her and winced. "You should really take that thing off. It's going to suck all the energy out of you to do what it wants and leave you empty."

Amy raised an eyebrow at her. Give up her only small protection in this den of lions? Yeah, right. "It was a gift from someone for whom I care very much, and I believe in him." The challenge was clear. She was not going to stop trusting in Will.

The gryphon fell from the sky and Amy clutched at the windowsill with white knuckles. Will was losing. The dragon thrashed around, and Amy wondered if perhaps Will could still win this battle.

The dragon exploded in a burst of lightning, sending a shock wave over the city. Amy felt the surge of dark power as it reached her vantage point, and the Sign flared with brilliant light. She felt the darkness flow around her, being absorbed by her captors. She could sense that things on the mountain were quickly coming to an end, and she prayed that Will was okay.

She felt the world suddenly stop breathing, and she looked around. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. A swirling column of darkness, like a wimpy tornado, materialized in the center of the room, and Cheng stepped out, bloody and beaten. He motioned to the two guards in the room with their rifles, who grabbed Amy by the arms and forced her roughly to her knees.

She glared up at him, defiant. "Will won, didn't he." It was not a question.

"And now he will pay the price." Cheng raised a black metal sword over her head, and one of the guards grabbed her painfully by the hair, forcing her head down and exposing her neck. She took a deep breath, trembling. This was not how it was supposed to end. "I told him that it was too late, and now I mean to make sure of it." She tensed as he raised the blade just a little higher, and then closed her eyes as she sensed the whistling descent of the steel.

"STOP!" Candace shouted, and Amy peeked one eye open to see the other girl between her and Cheng's sword. The Chinaman had stopped millimeters from cleaving Candace's face in two, and he was trembling with rage. "You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"

Cheng laughed as he lowered his weapon, and Amy saw horrified realization dawning on her friend's face. "You know that she will only poison us, an agent of Stanton's blasted work. If you are with her, then you are not with us." He gestured to the guards, and Candace found herself on her knees next to Amy. "Tie them up," he told the two men with rifles. "We are leaving."

"What? What are you going to do with us?" Candace demanded as Cheng headed for the door, a note of panic in her voice. Amy's heart went out to her. "What about the great plan? Master, please!"

He stopped, not turning to look at her. "You are of no more use to me," he told her quietly as he left the room. It was a dismissal of the worst kind, and Amy watched as her friend's shoulders sagged with the realization that she had been betrayed.

The guards dragged them to their feet and to a pair of chairs, sitting them down roughly. Amy struggled against their grasp, but they were just too strong for her. Rope was produced from somewhere, and Amy found herself tied to Candace and the chairs. The men with the rifles left the room, and Amy could hear everyone hurrying out of the building. She had the worst kind of feeling about what was about to happen. "I'm sorry I got you into this," she apologized to Candace, who was sobbing softly at this point.

"It's my own fault," the other girl cried. "I should have seen that I didn't really mean anything to him."

"The Dark is like that, always using and always taking without giving anything back, disguising itself with promises of power and satisfaction. You had no way of knowing what would happen." Amy felt like she wasn't herself as she tried to comfort her friend. She could sense the darkness growing below them. She was shaking, and she could feel Candace shaking with fear too. Where was Will? He had said that he would come for her when he was finished. Now would be a good time.

Amy felt the Sign glowing hot at her throat, and she sensed the explosion split seconds before it happened. White light flared around her, and Candace shrieked. "AMY!"

The world was torn apart, even as Amy clutched at Candace's hands. She had time to wonder why Will hadn't come to save them, and then everything went dark.

**Reader Responses**

Eldrice- Will does get to have all sorts of adventures. I'm jealous.

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- Okay. So I guess I'm the only one whose brain works in warped anime here. Although USUALLY I see everything in movie-format.


	22. Saved from Certain Doom

A/N- I can't believe this is almost over. What am I going to do now? Not much else to say. Reader responses at the end.

**Chapter 22**

Amy blinked her eyes open groggily, moaning as her head throbbed. She didn't recognize her strange surroundings. Where was she?

Memory returned in a painful flash, and suddenly all the debris and smoke and reddish glow around her made sense. "Candace?" she called, her throat hoarse from the smoke. She tried to move, but her right leg wouldn't respond. She looked down at it, finding that it was trapped under a steel beam from the roof of the warehouse. It hadn't hurt, but seeing it caused the nerves in her leg to realize that they were supposed to be doing a job. Pain swept over her in a nauseating wave, and she fought back bile.

She was alive, and that was more than she had expected when she sensed the blast coming. She remembered the flare of light from the Sign, and wondered if that was the only reason that she had survived. "Candace!" she called, trying to remember what exactly had happened.

She looked up at what was left of the warehouse roof, seeing only black smoke and the red glow of flames. She could feel the heat pressing in on her, and she wondered with panic where the nearest flames were. She was quite pyrophobic at times, and this would be one of those times.

"Amy?" she heard a female voice call from about twenty feet away. "Are you there?"

"I'm here," she called back, relief sweeping over her and driving back the pain in her leg. She hadn't gotten Candace killed after all.

"I'm stuck," the other girl said.

"So am I," Amy replied. "I guess we'll have to wait for the fire department." Or Will, if he was okay. Why hadn't he come for her before the blast? Where was he? Had he left after he finished the task of defeating the Chinaman? Why hadn't he killed Cheng?

What was left of the corrugated steel roof, twisted and sharp from the blast, creaked ominously. Amy groaned. They needed to get out of here before the roof caved in on them and they were buried beneath the metal debris. Even if they managed somehow to survive the roof falling on them, they would be baked alive by the intense heat. She had no desire to become a human pot roast.

"Amy?" a different voice called from some distant part of the destroyed building. Her heart leaped. She recognized that voice.

"Will!" she shouted back. "The roof is about to fall!"

He appeared, seeming to materialize from the smoke and the heat haze. He rushed to her side, kneeling by her and taking her hand. He frowned as he saw her leg under the beam. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here. Where's Candace?"

"She's over there. Get her out first. She saved my life."

Will raised an eyebrow at her, and then nodded, glancing up at the roof as it creaked again. "I will be back for you," he promised, squeezing her hand and then standing. He ran over to where Candace was, and Amy could hear shifting debris and Candace's whimpers as he freed her. He rushed past her, carrying Candace in his arms like a little girl.

She bit her lip as another wave of pain hit her, tasting blood. "Hurry, Will," she whispered as the roof creaked once again. She could see the dim shadow of the ceiling start to tilt toward her, and she closed her eyes. This was not something that she wanted to watch.

After what seemed like an eternity, Will reappeared. He looked so tired, but determined. With a few words in that strange language, he pushed against the steel beam on her leg. It didn't move, and he slumped to the ground next to her, exhausted. "It's just a little too heavy," he apologized, staring up at the roof. "I'm sorry, Amy. I can't do it. I'm trying, but there is nothing left in me."

She reached for his hand, clinging to it for dear life. "I don't want to die alone, not like this."

He brushed her bangs out of her face, trying to smile reassuringly at her. She thought that he looked like he was about to cry. "You won't die. I won't let you." He got to his knees again, bracing himself against the beam. "I'm going to try again. Help me. Lend me your strength."

Amy reached one hand up to her necklace, and closed her eyes. The Sign glowed warm in her hand as she concentrated all her will to live, imagining all the strength she had to give flowing to Will in a beam of light.

She cried out as bone fragments shifted under the moving steel, but the beam was suddenly off her leg and Will was scooping her up in his strong arms, running for the door as the roof gave one final groan and half of it crashed to the floor. Sparks flew around them as Will ran for the door, and flames blocked their path, fanned by the air flowing in through the gaping hole above them. "Hold on," he told her, wrapping his dark cloak around her protectively. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as they passed through the final wall of fire. She felt like the flames were reaching out to grab her, but the Sign flared once more and drove the heat back.

Then they were out in the cold night air, and Amy gasped as it filled her heat-seared lungs. She suddenly couldn't breathe. Will carried her over to the fire engine that had arrived, where Candace already sat with the paramedics. She was vaguely aware of an EMT placing an oxygen mask on her face, and less aware of what happened after that. She was so tired, and now that she was out of danger, all she wanted to do was sleep. She closed her eyes as Will held her, breathing his own oxygen calmly, and fell into sweet black oblivion.

:When she woke, Will was sitting next to her hospital bed, snoring softly in his chair. She smiled, glad to be alive. "Will?" She spoke quietly. He probably needed sleep more than she did at this point, and she didn't want to wake him if he wasn't ready.

He jerked awake, startled by her voice. "Amy. You're awake. Thank goodness." He grinned at her, and she felt her heart melting. "That was a close call back there."

She nodded her agreement, swallowing painfully. She imagined that her throat would probably be sore for a long while. "Candace?" she asked as she maneuvered herself into a sitting position.

"She's fine. One arm and the other wrist are broken, and she has a concussion from hitting her head on the ground. Your parents are here, and you now have a steel rod in your leg where they had to reconstruct it. You'll be on crutches for a long time. But you are both in pretty good shape, considering what that blast did to the building." He raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened back there? Did she switch sides at the last minute or something?"

"Wait a minute. My parents came? How long have I been out?"

"You've been out a good twenty-four hours, except for a brief period after surgery. But you probably don't remember that. Your parents rushed here as soon as the hospital called them. Right now they're getting something to eat. They asked me to sit with you."

Amy blushed. "So they know about you and me, then?"

"They know that I'm a very good friend, nothing more, although I'm sure they can guess some of it."

"Good." She would feel weird trying to explain the exact nature of her relationship with Will to her parents. "And yes, Candace did switch sides at the last minute," she changed the subject.

"What exactly happened?"

Amy looked away, staring out the window. The day was bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the last time she had been awake. "Cheng was about to chop my head off and she got in the way. And as her reward, he tied her up with me and left us both there to die."

It was Will's turn to look away now. "I'm glad she was there. It's my fault that Cheng is still alive in the first place."

"What happened?" she asked. She had been wondering about that. "Why didn't you kill him while you had the chance?"

"Because he told me that he had already ordered you killed, and that the only way I was going to find you is if I let him go."

She shook her head. "Oh, Will." This was exactly what everyone had been afraid of. This was exactly why Merriman and the Lady had been after her to leave his heart alone. "You are in trouble now."

"I know," he sighed. "By now he's left Rock Springs, so this place is safe. Your job is done." He smiled at her, a sad and lonely look in his eyes. "I, on the other hand, get to track him down again."

"You're leaving, then." It was not a question, and she already knew the answer.

He nodded. "I have to. I need to set things right. He may have failed here, but he's not going to be content with a little town like this. He only started here because this is where he joined the Dark so long ago. He's going to go back to large-scale politics and that is a truly dangerous game."

Amy nodded. "We're all in trouble."

"Maybe not. Maybe by letting him go this time, I'm going to be able to discover the true extent of his plans and his influence. I have to look for something good about my failure here." He reached out and took her hand. "I will stop him before he has a chance to cause any real damage."

She laughed bitterly, looking down at her leg. "I don't know, Will, the damage here seems real enough."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and she heard pain in his voice. He was truly upset that he had gotten her hurt. Her, and Candace, and anyone who had been foolish enough to side with the Chinaman and then get in the Old One's way. "I don't know what I can do to make things right."

"Find him," she replied. "You already know that."

He opened his mouth to reply, but the door opened and her parents entered. "Oh, good, you're awake!" her mother exclaimed, rushing to her bedside.

Amy gave her a huge hug. "I'm glad you came," she told her parents. Her father joined her mother at her bedside. "It's such a long drive."

"We were worried about our little girl," her father told her. She could read all of the unspoken questions on his face- who was this Will fellow, what had she been doing in that warehouse in the first place, and what was really going on here? She wanted to answer him, but she knew that he would never understand the truth. It hurt, but she would have to come up with a feasible story. Was this a foreshadowing of other lies to come?

"I'll let you be alone with your family," Will excused himself. "You know where to find me when they discharge you." So he was going to hang around at least long enough for her to get out of the hospital. That was reassuring.

"I'll see you later," she told him as he left the room, and then went back to trying to answer her parents' many questions.

**Reader Responses**

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer- No bubbles, but yay for that Sign. As for Candace, just wait and see.

Eldrice- It just wouldn't be complete without the creepy guys with rifles.


	23. Epilogue Until We Meet Again

A/N- It's all over- for now. Thanks for sticking with me to the end! Big plans for Will and Amy, still. And Bran and Jane and all our favorite people... But for now I'm worn out- the stresses of motherhood and an impending wall of writers' block promise that it will be a while. I promise that when the sequel hits, it will be worth the wait. So here's the last of it. Enjoy!

**Epilogue  
**

"He's leaving today, isn't he?" Candace asked over her basket of French fries. The T-Rex grill was nearly empty today, and Amy was glad for that. She wanted to be mostly alone with her thoughts.

She nodded at her best friend. "He is." She looked at her watch, and then reached for her crutches. "In fact, I need to go see him off at the airport."

"Do you want me to come with you?" It was a genuine offer, but Amy knew that seeing Will would only dredge up painful memories of last week's adventure for her.

"No, that's okay. I've got it."

Candace nodded. There was still a nasty bruise on the side of her face where she had hit her head in the explosion. One wrist was in a cast, and the other arm was sheathed completely to just above the wrist. Amy was glad that they had gotten out of there alive. "Alright. Tell him good luck for me."

"I will," Amy smiled, and then gathered up her things awkwardly. She was still getting used to these crutches. At least she could still drive her automatic with her good foot. She would be dying of cabin fever if her other leg had broken or if she had a manual transmission.

She hobbled back to the dorms to drop off her books and get a warmer jacket. The wind was chill and picking up, and the sky was gray and gloomy again, threatening snow later tonight. She almost wished that it would snow now, and keep him here. She knew that he had a duty to do, but she didn't want to let him go.

She drove out into the desert, past the ruined mineral plant. She liked to take the back way to the tiny airport instead of the freeway. It helped her to think and to clear her mind, and goodness only knew how much she needed that right now. It was all she could do to keep from crying. It wasn't fair that she had finally fallen in love and he had no choice but to leave her.

She had helped him pack last night and early this morning, before she went to class. Not a whole lot was said, but she knew that he could hear what she was thinking, and he knew that she could read him like a book. He hadn't bothered trying to hide what he was feeling. He had never expected to find anyone like her in this backwoods Wyoming town. "It's what I have to do to make things right," he had finally said before she left for class. She wasn't sure if he had been trying to convince her or himself or maybe both.

"Yes, it is," she had replied. The dreams since the fire in the warehouse had been very clear on that point. In a way she was glad that Merriman and the Lady both saw that the blame lay with Will, but she almost wanted to keep him safe from their reproach. Just because he had been the one to make the choice didn't mean that she hadn't wanted him to make it.

She arrived at the airport, and sat in the car for a moment, composing herself. The tiny plane that would take Will to Denver and then to who knew where was sitting at the gate, its engines humming. She had deliberately timed this so that they wouldn't have long before he had to board the plane. She didn't want the kind of long goodbye that she had been falling into at the dance the other night. They had said all they needed to say last night, except the final farewell.

She hobbled into the airport, looking for her Englishman. He was waiting near the security checkpoint, passport in hand. He saw her, and that charming grin that she had first loved about him came to his face. He wrapped his arms around her as she reached him. "I was starting to worry you wouldn't come," he told her.

"I wouldn't forget." She dug in her coat pocket for the thing she had bought two days ago, when he told her that he was leaving. It was a tiny angel pin, with a sparkly blue crystal set in it. "Here," she told him, enfolding it in his hand. "I may not be able to come with you, but you know that I am with you in spirit anyway." She blushed. It sounded so sappy when she actually said it out loud.

He laughed and kissed her on the forehead, then pinned it to the lapel of his wool coat. "And I with you." He drew her into his arms, holding her there for a minute. "I will find him. And then I want you to come to England with me and meet my family. They would love you."

She looked up sharply. "Do you mean that?"

He nodded. "When this is all over, I want you to come to England. I want you to meet everyone. Bran, and Jane and her brothers, and my sisters and my older brother Stephen especially."

"I would love that," she told him. She looked up as the boarding call came over the intercom.

"I should go now," he told her.

"I know." She felt the lump in her throat grow, and she shook her head with a smile.

"What?" he asked gently.

"I promised myself that I wouldn't cry, and here I'm about to do just that."

He laughed quietly, and hugged her again. "I will call you as soon as I get to the east coast. I'm sure he's gone to either D.C. or New York. Don't worry about me."

"I won't." She tilted her head back to look up at him, and found herself being kissed. When he stepped back, she smiled. "You take care of yourself, Old One."

"You as well, Dream-Seeker. There are still things for you to do." Then he had turned, walking through the metal detector. She shook her head. She wasn't going to say the actual word "goodbye." That would mean that she wasn't going to see him again soon.

She walked out to the parking lot, and got into her car. She let herself cry then, where he couldn't see or possibly know, although she was sure that he might guess. She stayed until the plane was off the ground, and then steered her car back out into the desert.

It started to snow softly, and the world was for a moment quiet.

**THE END**


End file.
